Coalers upset Lisle, Wildcats get their win, Comets done in by Indians

The Coal City varsity football team never trailed Friday night when Lisle, who had yet to lose a game, came to town. The Coalers built a 24-14 lead by half-time before holding the Lions scoreless the final two quarters to improve to 8-1 overall and raise their seed in next week's playoffs.

Coal City quarterback Payton Hutchings  found Austin Pullara from 12 yards out with 5:03 left in the first quarter to go up 6-0. Coaler running back Daniel Jezik plunged into the end zone from one yard out to make it 12-0 Coalers 5:45 2q.

Later on, Jezik busted through the Lisle line for a 55-yard scoring dash 3:29 before the half to stretch the Coal City lead to 18-0. That's when things got interesting. Lion Qb Jay McGrath ran one in from 34-yards out, cutting the lead, 18-7 Coalers 1:38.  Asa Cooper answered with an 80-yard kick off return for a touchdown, 24-7 Coalers with 1:23 before the break.

Lisle's McGrath found Nick Martich from 30 yards out on a tipped ball, 24-14 Coalers at half.

Cole Garcia hit pay dirt from a yard out, 30-14 8:14 3q. Hutchings called his own number on a rollout 35-yard touchdown run, 36-14 5:10 3q. Hutchings to Pullara one more time for six. This one was from 23 yards out to an all alone Pullara. Coalers cruised to victory thanks to a stout defense who held the visitors scoreless the rest of the way.

The Coalers were ranked 6th in the 4A playoff bid so they will likely host a team in the first round.

WILDCATS WINS

Wilmington (6-3) assured themselves a spot in the 3A playoffs with a 35-20 finish at Plano.

The Reapers were not much of a contest through three quarters when the Wildcats built a 28-6 lead off a pair of touchdowns each for Conner Dempsay and Sam Hafner. The Wildcat defense even got a two-point safety on a kickoff return late in the third quarter.

Plano ran in a couple of touchdowns in the fourth period but it was all for naught when Hafner added his third touchdown of the night late to finish with 148 yards in 22 attempts. Dempsay was the rushing leader, racking up 182 yards in 30 tries.

The Wildcats make the playoffs for the 23rd straight year, finding out tonight who they will play in the first round. Prior to their win over Plano they were ranked 24th in the 32-team field so they will likely climb a bit. Odds are they will travel for game one.

COMETS FALL TO SANDWICH

Reed-Custer closed out its season with a 49-7 loss at Sandwich. They gave up 28 points to the hosts who racked up 326 yards rushing and 109 yards passing, including TD runs of 55 and 47 yards. What also hurt were passing touchdowns of 52, 33 and 24 yards as Sandwich improved to 4-5 overall while Reed-Custer falls to 2-7 for the season.

The one bright spot for the Comets came in the third period when quarterback Josh Loomis completed a 60-yard pass to Rick Siegers for a touchdown. Loomis ended up 15-for-26 for 149 yards passing while leading the Comets in rushing with 55 yards in 20 attempts.