Simeon 29, Shepard 14: A full-house backfield and some key halftime defensive adjustments sparked Simeon (9-1) to a 29-14 victory over Shepard (6-4) at Gately Stadium.
“Mike Johnson and myself had a talk with our offensive linemen at halftime,” said Andre Lee, who rushed for 120 yards and two TDs while Johnson gained 129 and scored once.
At halftime, Simeon offensive coordinator Reggie Evans suggested inserting tight end Randall Lane into the backfield as an extra blocker, and Lee soon broke a 49-yard TD run on a fullback trap, with excellent blocks from Perry, Steven Coleman and John Stancil. The two-point conversion, on a run by Johnson, put Simeon ahead for good at 15-14.
Rockford Boylan 10, Rock Island Alleman 7: With a strong wind at his back, Dave Miller kicked a 41-yard field goal with :12 left to lift Boylan (10-0), the state’s top-ranked Class 5A team.
CLASS 3A
Marian Central 47, Burlington Central 0: Marian Central (10-0) rushed for 407 yards and recorded its first shutout of the season to advance. Jason Liska (24 carries, 205 yards, 4 TDs) and Todd McCoy (11 carries, 129 yards, 2 TDs) combined to send Burlington home with a 6-4 record. Marian recorded five sacks for 32 yards and held Burlington to minus 16 yards rushing and nine yards of total offense.
Seneca 28, Coal City 12: Pete Madden (7 of 16, 153 yards) connected with Adam Provance on touchdown throws of 28 and 31 yards as Seneca (10-0) overcame a sluggish first half to capture the Class 3A opener.
The Fightin’ Irish routed Coal City 43-0 earlier in Interstate Eight play.
Mike Coleman (20 carries, 179 yards) ran for a 3-yard touchdown and Scott Finch (13 carries, 113 yards) rambled 23 yards to round out the scoring for Seneca.
