Return to state denied

Seniors Sean Cwynar (left) and Jordan Peart console each other after Marian Central's semifinal loss to Morris on Saturday. (Rebekah Raleigh photo)

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MORRIS – Even with its missteps and blown opportunities, Marian Central needed only one more defensive stop.

If the Hurricanes’ defense could hold Morris, which faced a third-and-9 from its 15-yard line, quarterback Jon Budmayr would have almost 2:30 with which to work, decent field position and two timeouts.

Budmayr never got to touch the ball again.

Morris quarterback Drew Hanson gained 16 crucial yards on a bootleg, then the Redskins added one more first down to end Marian’s season, 10-9, Saturday in their IHSA Class 5A playoff semifinal.

Morris (11-2) will meet Metamora (13-0) for the IHSA 5A state championship at 10 a.m. Saturday at the University of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium. Metamora defeated Marion, 62-34, in the other semifinal Saturday.

“We knew they were going to run the bootleg at a critical time,” Marian coach Ed Brucker said. “They did it last week [in a winning drive against Belvidere].”

Linebacker Jack Gilleland said the Hurricanes were confident they would stop Morris on its final drive and get the ball back to the offense.

“It was a matter of buckling down,” he said. “I guess people got confused and a little bit too overaggressive. They were running that wham play so much.”

Morris coach George Dergo was about to call timeout and call a different play before Hanson’s key play.

“It was the same exact play [as last week],” said Hanson, who gained 28 yards against Belvidere. “It was open again. I was going to run it anyway. I wasn’t going down on that one.”

Morris gained one more first down after that on three Adam Tondini carries – with Marian’s final timeouts sandwiched in between – to seal the outcome.

The Hurricanes (10-3) fell behind, 10-0, at halftime as Morris held the ball for 19:40 of the first half, running 40 plays to Marian’s 14. Morris’ David Balzer booted a 33-yard field goal, then the Redskins scored after Andy Stochl muffed a punt and Morris recovered on the Marian 3.

Marian turned things around in the second half with Doug Simpson’s 52-yard kickoff return setting the tone. Sean Cwynar’s 19-yard field goal put the ’Canes on the board, then the defense stiffened, allowing Morris only 49 total yards in the second half.

Budmayr scored on a 2-yard run, but Morris’ Drew Tondini came around the left end to block Cwynar’s extra-point attempt, which ultimately decided the game.

“Getting that [muffed punt] down there was a big break,” Dergo said. “I can’t say enough about that guy blocking the extra point. Our special teams won it.”

The Hurricanes still looked strong on defense, and Budmayr, after a 24-yard pass to Karsten Hamilton-Smith, moved Marian to Morris’ 15. The Redskins’ defense held on third-and-2, then again on fourth-and-2, then took over with 3:40 to play.

That Cwynar, Marian’s 6-foot-4, 285-pound two-way lineman, had kicked for only two previous games, helped Brucker decide to go on fourth down.

“He hasn’t been kicking that long,” Brucker said. “And we felt like we could get a yard there and take it in.”

Three plays later, Hanson gained the big first down. Then, with 1:59 remaining, Tondini added the clincher.

“We just made too many mistakes,” Marian wide receiver-defensive back Jordan Peart said. “Things didn’t go our way. They made the plays, and we didn’t.”

Peart, Gilleland, Cwynar and Eric Parker, all Marian seniors, stood or sat on the field 10 minutes after the game, unable to accept what had happened.

“We thought we had all the momentum,” Gilleland said. “A couple of things here and there turned it back.”