Coal City puts up 35 first quarter points, wins ICE opener at Streator

STREATOR – The Coal City Coalers ran seven offensive plays in the first quarter of their Friday night, Illinois Central Eight Conference-opening visit to the Streator Bulldogs.

Four of them went for touchdowns, and the Coalers special teams added another one on Jonathan Widlowski’s 53-yard punt return to put up 35 first quarter points on Coal City’s way to a running-clock, 56-6 win at Doug Dieken Stadium.

“I was real happy right from the opening kickoff,” Coal City coach Francis Loughran said. “We got a great return that set us up for that first score, and that was really good for our defense too, getting that cushion there.

“I didn’t know quite what to expect with [Streator having] a new coach, so to give ourself some breathing room right away was key for us.”

Coal City is 2-1 (1-0) heading into Friday’s home game with Lisle.

The Bulldogs, now 1-2 (0-1), visit Manteno in Week 4.

Coal City senior workhorse Landin Benson carried the ball nine times for 153 yards and two touchdowns, sophomore quarterback Connor Henline - stepping in for the injured Zander Meents – completed his first five passes to finish 5 for 8 for 93 yards and three touchdowns, and the Coalers added Gabriel Mchugh’s pick-six just before halftime to Widlowski’s special teams touchdown.

Not to be outdone, the Coal City defense had an outstanding first quarter and beyond itself, sparked by defensive lineman Cade Poyner’s two first quarter tackles for loss and added to by two more TFLs courtesy of Emmett Easton, two quarterback sacks by Donnie Ladas and Mchugh’s interception and 60-yard return into the end zone.

“The whole team, this was probably our best game,” said Poyner, the big defensive lineman. “We all just flowed. It was a great team win.

“I don’t know if it’s easier [to play with a lead], but obviously the momentum’s there. So you have that motivation, but the intensity has to be the same all the time. Winning or losing, you’ve just got to go out there and keep trying your hardest.”

Coal City’s offensive, defensive and special teams efficiency led to the Coalers running just 28 offensive plays for 293 yards (200 rushing, 93 passing) and eight touchdowns. Streator, contrarily, totaled 50 offensive snaps on its way to 196 yards from scrimmage (63 rushing, 133 passing) and one late fourth quarter score – a 2-yard Isaiah Weibel-to-Sharonn Morton touchdown pass on Weibel’s fourth consecutive completion to the sophomore.

Weibel finished 16 of 31 for 133 yards with one TD and one INT. Tristan Finley (four receptions, 45 yards), Morton (four receptions, 31 yards), Jake Hagie (three for 27) and Matt Williamson (three for 19) were his top targets, with Jordan Lukes rushing 11 times for 54 yards putting him just over 350 yards for the season.

Morton added a defensive fumble recovery.

But the Bulldogs had to play from behind – way behind, for the most part – from 20 seconds after the opening kickoff, which Coalers returner Logan Natyshok returned 72 yards down to the Streator 4. Natyshok then hauled in the first of Henline’s three touchdown passes, with Mchugh and Gavin Berger catching the others later in the opening half.

First-year Bulldogs coach Matt Cloe said despite the slow start, Streator wasn’t caught off guard by what the powerhouse Coalers brought to town.

“Not at all,” he said. “We just didn’t make tackles.

“We’re rebuilding a program here. To expect perfection right off the bat, [you’re] probably not going to get it. To bounce back, we’ve just got to understand we’re in a building process. That’s it.”

Benson, in addition to his big rushing performance, was 7 for 7 on extra-point kicks.