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East Dubuque Begins Season on a Mission With 14-0 Win Over Polo ...
By Cody Cutter
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Publisher
POLO – Kyle Huseman got lucky.
With his team up 7-0 with 5:25 left to play the East Dubuque senior was watching
receiver Tyler McLane setting up for a pass from quarterback Chance Oster. Then
came his cue – a lateral that was pulled off at the last moment fell into his hands, and
Huseman marched 55 yards along the Polo sideline into the endzone.
The PAT by Keith Hayes was good for a 14-0 lead, which would be the final score at
Polo.
“We thought it would work,” said Huseman. "I didn't think my receiver was going to get
the pitch off – he was getting tackled, but he does this in practice all the time, and just
somehow gets the ball off to me. We got lucky. It was a good team effort.”
It used to be that luck was something the Warriors (1-0, 1-0 NUIC Upstate) needed to
achieve success in their football program. They don't have to worry so much about
getting luck. Having returned most, if not all, of their key players from a 4-5 season last
year, the Warriors are raring to have a stellar season.
Beating a team like Polo (0-1, 0-1), who has made the playoffs in four straight seasons,
is huge.
“We made a big statement,” said Oster. “We're out there now. We're making a name for
ourselves.”
Both of the Warrior scores came in the fourth quarter, having played 36 minutes of
scoreless football.
Late in the third quarter, the Marcos attempted to get break through with their passing
game. Drew Cheatham intercepted a pass at his own 20-yard line to set it up.
Cheatham, also the team's quarterback, failed to connect to Connor Lincoln on third
down after a tip by the Warriors' Paige Duehr, and on fourth down after coverage from
Huseman.
East Dubuque got the ball on downs and took five plays to run the ball into the
endzone. A sweep route by Huseman along the Polo sideline for 32 yards was the
highlight of the run, which was capped by Mike Hoppman's 10-yard run through center
with 11:57 left in the game. Hayes's PAT made it a 7-0 game.
“We had size on them but they had speed, and speed kills,” said Polo head coach Ted
Alston. “Their speed definitely hurt us tonight. They controlled the line of scrimmage,
they were in our backfield in most plays.”
Polo's next series ended on a fourth-and-two with 7:30 left. Dagin Buck ran to the right,
but let go of the ball on his way down. Jared Puls pounced on the ball at the 50-yard
line to recover possession. It was the ensuing series that led to the hook-and-lateral
play for the final score.
“We went to a new defense, and the kids have really bought into it,” said Warrior head
coach Terry Breitbach. “We don't have a lot of size, but we have a lot of depth, speed
and quickness, so we're going to use it to our advantage on both sides of the ball. We
can get some pressure and take it to the offense, and not let them dictate the game
and let us dictate the game. For the whole game, they did that.”
During the scoreless period, East Dubuque got as far as the Polo 11 late in the first
quarter before Oster was sacked by Scott Scholl for a loss of 10 yards. Hayes then
attempted a 26-yard field goal, but fell short. Another close drive occurred in the third
quarter on a 4th-and-4 with 5:59 left that was stuffed for a turnover.
Polo made it as far as the East Dubuque 27-yard line late in the second quarter before
turning the ball over on downs.
Huseman led the Warriors with 99 yards rushing on seven carries. Oster was 10-for-13
with 96 yards passing and one interception. McLane led the Warriors with five
receptions for 57 yards. Buck led Polo with 39 rushing yards.
Polo will regroup to take on Durand on the road. East Dubuque will have a big home
game against conference power Galena, who was ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press
preseason poll.
“We made a pretty big statement by shutting out the No. 9 team in the state,” said
Huseman. “That's just one step on the road we want to go on. Nothing's going to come
easy for us.”
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, and writes columns about
Illinois high school sports. He can be reached at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com.
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Publisher
POLO – Kyle Huseman got lucky.
With his team up 7-0 with 5:25 left to play the East Dubuque senior was watching
receiver Tyler McLane setting up for a pass from quarterback Chance Oster. Then
came his cue – a lateral that was pulled off at the last moment fell into his hands, and
Huseman marched 55 yards along the Polo sideline into the endzone.
The PAT by Keith Hayes was good for a 14-0 lead, which would be the final score at
Polo.
“We thought it would work,” said Huseman. "I didn't think my receiver was going to get
the pitch off – he was getting tackled, but he does this in practice all the time, and just
somehow gets the ball off to me. We got lucky. It was a good team effort.”
It used to be that luck was something the Warriors (1-0, 1-0 NUIC Upstate) needed to
achieve success in their football program. They don't have to worry so much about
getting luck. Having returned most, if not all, of their key players from a 4-5 season last
year, the Warriors are raring to have a stellar season.
Beating a team like Polo (0-1, 0-1), who has made the playoffs in four straight seasons,
is huge.
“We made a big statement,” said Oster. “We're out there now. We're making a name for
ourselves.”
Both of the Warrior scores came in the fourth quarter, having played 36 minutes of
scoreless football.
Late in the third quarter, the Marcos attempted to get break through with their passing
game. Drew Cheatham intercepted a pass at his own 20-yard line to set it up.
Cheatham, also the team's quarterback, failed to connect to Connor Lincoln on third
down after a tip by the Warriors' Paige Duehr, and on fourth down after coverage from
Huseman.
East Dubuque got the ball on downs and took five plays to run the ball into the
endzone. A sweep route by Huseman along the Polo sideline for 32 yards was the
highlight of the run, which was capped by Mike Hoppman's 10-yard run through center
with 11:57 left in the game. Hayes's PAT made it a 7-0 game.
“We had size on them but they had speed, and speed kills,” said Polo head coach Ted
Alston. “Their speed definitely hurt us tonight. They controlled the line of scrimmage,
they were in our backfield in most plays.”
Polo's next series ended on a fourth-and-two with 7:30 left. Dagin Buck ran to the right,
but let go of the ball on his way down. Jared Puls pounced on the ball at the 50-yard
line to recover possession. It was the ensuing series that led to the hook-and-lateral
play for the final score.
“We went to a new defense, and the kids have really bought into it,” said Warrior head
coach Terry Breitbach. “We don't have a lot of size, but we have a lot of depth, speed
and quickness, so we're going to use it to our advantage on both sides of the ball. We
can get some pressure and take it to the offense, and not let them dictate the game
and let us dictate the game. For the whole game, they did that.”
During the scoreless period, East Dubuque got as far as the Polo 11 late in the first
quarter before Oster was sacked by Scott Scholl for a loss of 10 yards. Hayes then
attempted a 26-yard field goal, but fell short. Another close drive occurred in the third
quarter on a 4th-and-4 with 5:59 left that was stuffed for a turnover.
Polo made it as far as the East Dubuque 27-yard line late in the second quarter before
turning the ball over on downs.
Huseman led the Warriors with 99 yards rushing on seven carries. Oster was 10-for-13
with 96 yards passing and one interception. McLane led the Warriors with five
receptions for 57 yards. Buck led Polo with 39 rushing yards.
Polo will regroup to take on Durand on the road. East Dubuque will have a big home
game against conference power Galena, who was ranked No. 4 in the Associated Press
preseason poll.
“We made a pretty big statement by shutting out the No. 9 team in the state,” said
Huseman. “That's just one step on the road we want to go on. Nothing's going to come
easy for us.”
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat, and writes columns about
Illinois high school sports. He can be reached at Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com.
| East Dubuque 14, Polo 0 East Dub. 0 0 0 14 - 14 Polo 0 0 0 0 - 0 ED - Mike Hoppman 10 run (Keith Hayes kick) ED - Kyle Huseman 55 run with lateral after Tyler McLane 8 pass from Oster (Hayes kick) Statistics Rushing: ED - Huseman 7-99, Hoppman 13-45, Austin Fluhr 4-34, Jared Puls 4-4, Oster 1-N20. Total: 28-162. P - Dagin Buck 9-39, Drew Cheatham 10-34, Brandon Wiggins 9-19. Total: 28-92. Passing: ED - Oster 10-13-92-1. P - Cheatham 2-8-28-1. Receiving: ED - McLane 5-57, Brandon Montijo 1-11, Puls 1-8, Huseman 1-4, Belken 1-2. Total: 8-74. P - Wiggins 1-10, Connor Lincoln 1-7. Total: 2-17. Total offense: East Dubuque 236, Polo 109. Tackles: East Dubuque 32 (Huseman, Fluhr 7), Polo 37 (Cheatham 11). Penalties: East Dubuque 4-35, Polo 3-25. Records: East Dubuque 1-0 (1-0 NUIC U), Polo 0-1 (0-1). |
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