PREP FOOTBALL: Oakwood falls to top-seeded Brown County

MT. STERLING — Perennial football playoff teams limit their mistakes and capitalize on their opportunities. The top-seeded Brown County Hornets proved that theory on Saturday afternoon with a 34-7 victory over the Oakwood Comets in an IHSA Class 1A second-round playoff game. “I think there were some opportunities missed early on,’’ Oakwood coach Cameron Lee said. “When you play a team of that caliber. We knew that we couldn’t afford make mistakes and we were going to have to capitalize on opportunities.’’ Brown County’s Beau Little scored three times in the first half on runs of 20 and 28 yards to go along with a 79-yard touchdown pass from Michael Kassing as the Hornets took advantage of a pair of Oakwood turnovers to build a 22-0 halftime lead. “A team of that caliber, you are only going to get so many opportunities to get a stop,’’ said Lee, noting that Comets defense had just come up with a defensive stop on the Hornets previous possession. “When you feel like you are gaining momentum, you can’t afford to give up a play like that.’’ The Comets, who finish the season at 8-4, had two more turnovers in the second half as the Hornets (11-0 overall) extended their lead to 34-0. Lee noted that Brown County, last year’s state runner-up in Class 1A, were both big, physical and athletic. “Rarely are we outmatched athletically or physically. Most of the year, when we had the upper hand in both areas,’’ he said. “Today, we played a team that was able to neutralize us in both those areas. “They were just as athletic as us and just as big and physical. When we can’t find our advantage, it’s going to be hard to move the ball.’’ Oakwood did avoid the shutout as senior Kyler Johnson, who had a team-high 72 rushing yards, scored on a 1-yard run with 5 minutes, 52 seconds left. Successful season It was a bittersweet finish for the Comets, who won two playoff games for just the second time in school playoff history defeating Pleasant Hill 53-12 in the opening round and then beating Greenfield-Northwestern 42-12 in last week’s first round. Not bad for a team that lost three straight (Dwight, Clifton Central and Westville) by a total of 12 points in the middle of the season. “I’m so happy and proud of the way that we battled and stayed together,’’ said Lee. “This is one of the most resilient groups that I have been around. I would assume that what we went through, given our expectations, a lot of teams wouldn’t have been able to put it back together and pull off a five-game win streak.’’ Oakwood snapped the losing streak and started its five-gam win streak with an upset win of Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond (31-16) in a game that was scheduled the week of the game. “I think if you were summarizing this season, that game was definitely the turning point,’’ Lee said. “We didn’t find out until Monday that we were even going to play the game. It would have been easy for us, after losing three straight, to just take the forfeit win from Hoopeston and not schedule ALAH. But, I asked the kids and the coaches what they wanted to do, and they felt for us to be the type of program we want to be, that we had to play that game.’’ The Comets wound up playing one of the best Class 1A schedules in the state with the addition of the Knights, who beat the Salt Fork Storm 40-6 in Saturday’s second round. Oakwood played seven playoff teams in the regular season, and two of their opponents are in this week’s Class 1A quarterfinals — Brown County and Clifton Central. “I think before you can win big games, you have to play in them,’’ Lee said. “And you have to continue to put yourself out there and take steps forward. I think the thing we did best this year. We played a lot of good opponents. We competed week-in and week-out. We challenged ourselves. Getting to play in playoff games and going on the road and taking on challenges.’’ Final games This is the final season for Johnson, Alex Wallace, Collin Furry, Cale Thomas, Carsen Dudley, Cooper Lappin, Grady Johnson, Gauge Carillo and Walker Enos at Oakood. The program went 24-17 during their four years, including three straight playoff appearances for just the second time in school history. Up next Brown County advances to play Camp Point Central, a 38-6 winner of Sullivan, in the state quarterfinals. The Hornets defeated the Panthers 30-27 on Sept. 25, giving Brown County the Western Illinois Valley North Conference title. Brown County 34, Oakwood 7 Oakwood 0 0 0 7 — 7 Brown County 6 16 6 6 — 34 First quarter BC — Beau Little 20-yard run (run failed), 3:35. Second quarter BC — Little 28-yard run (Jack Sefton run) 7:50. BC — Little 79-yard pass from Wyatt Kassing (Bradley Markert run) 1:16. Third quarter BC — Sefton 4-yard run (run failed) 2:02. Fourth quarter BC — Taygen Hohenberry 4-yard run (pass failed), 8:24. Oak — Kyler Johnson 1-yard run (Layne Blundy kick) 5:32. Oakwood statistical leaders Rushing — Kyler Johnson 19 carries, 72 yards; Riglee Hart 6-6, Weston Frazier 1-8. Passing — Hart 5 completions, 15 attempts, 4 interceptions, 57 yards. Receiving — Jaethan Perez 3 receptions, 31 yards; Collin Furry 2-26.