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MOLINE – Two first-half turnovers and a strong Moline defense in the second half proved too much for DeKalb to overcome on Friday as the Barbs fell 21-13 to the Maroons in a Class 7A first-round playoff game.
The No. 23 Barbs (6-4) were making their first playoff appearance since 2019 after a 2-7 campaign last year. They trailed by one at halftime and had a 71-yard rushing performance from Talen Tate, but they ran just 11 plays for 47 yards in the second half.
The No. 10 Maroons (9-1) got a 228-yard performance from Riley Fuller on 34 carries, controlling the clock in the second half. They rattled off a 15-play, 78-yard drive that ate 6:55 off the clock to start the second half for a 21-13 lead but the Barbs wouldn’t let them score again.
“It was a good season,” said cornerback Ethan Tierney, who had a lot of open-field tackles to stop Fuller from breaking off big runs. “I love playing with these boys. I’m excited for the future.”
The Barbs forced Moline into a third-and-17 on its 15-play scoring drive, but quarterback Grant Sibley picked up 16, setting up Fuller for the easy fourth-down pickup.
“Those things are huge,” Moline coach Mike Morrissey said. “Grant Sibley is a competitor. That’s the biggest compliment I can give him. We’ve relied on him to make big plays for us all year for us, and he’s stepped up every single time.”
DeKalb had a late chance to tie the game, taking over with 3:36 left. But a holding call after Tate carried the Barbs into Moline territory knocked them back behind the 50 and they never recovered.
“We played hard but we just made too many mistakes at the end of the day to pull out a victory,” second-year coach Derek Schneeman said. “The two turnovers came back to bite us. I felt like offensively we were our own worst enemy at times, but you have to tip your hat to Moline.”
The teams traded touchdowns to start the game. DeKalb went 54 yards on the opening drive, capped by a 2-yard run by Ethan McCarter but the kick was wide left. Moline answered with a 54-yard drive of its own with Fuller going 11 for the score and a 7-6 lead.
“[Fuller] got his, but at the end of the day our defense gave us a chance to win,” Schneeman said.
On the first play of the next drive, Adrien McVicar overthrew his receiver and was intercepted by Sibley. The Maroons answered with a 16-play, 93-yard scoring drive. On fourth-and-4 from the 25, Sibley found Jasper Ogburn for the score and a 14-6 lead.
DeKalb answered on the next drive with a 22-yard scoring run by Tate after McVicar found McCarter for 7 yards on a fourth-and-3.
The Barb defense got a stop for the first time on the next drive when Dominic Ohlinger got an open-field tackle on Sibley to keep him from the first down. The Barbs drove down to the Moline 15, but McVicar fumbled a snap and Hyson Bey-Buie recovered the fumble to help preserve the Maroon lead at 14-13 going into the break.
We had a few adjustments we had to make,” Morrissey said. “We had to focus on the playmakers they had, slowing those guys down. Obviously it’s a lot easier said than done. But in the second half we did a great job.”
Tate finished with 111 yards on 13 carries. The Barbs had a 166-155 edge in total yards at the break but Moline finished with a 334-212 edge, powered by Fuller’s big game plus 64 from Sibley.
“I’m really proud of our seniors,” Schneeman said. “They set the blueprint for these future classes on and off the field and turned us around. Last year we were disappointed going 2-7. This year to be 6-4, to compete week in, week out with the top of the DVC, I could not be prouder of our seniors. It’s a tough day but I love these kids so much and I have all the respect in the world for them.”