Defense keeps Blue Streaks alive until end

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WOODSTOCK – Woodstock accomplished its goal of hosting a playoff football game this season at Larry Dale Field, but when it was over, the players knew they wanted more.

The frustrating part about their 10-7 loss to fourth-seeded Carmel in the second round of the IHSA Class 7A playoffs Friday was that it was within reach.

The 12th-seeded Blue Streaks’ defense forced three fumbles and kept Carmel’s slick option offense in check much of the night, but the Streaks couldn’t get much of anything going on offense.

“Our defense just played really well tonight, and we just missed some opportunities on offense,” Woodstock coach Steve Beard said. “I really think you’ve got to score 21 points to win playoff games ... again our defense got us turnovers, we just didn’t play real well on offense tonight.”

Cold weather and the Corsairs’ defense, which pressured Woodstock quarterback Derek Brown, had much to do with the Streaks’ offensive struggles.

Carmel had a 3-0 halftime lead, thanks to a 21-yard, first-quarter field goal from Jimmy Miller.

“We’re up 3-0, and I’m thinking it should be 17-0, because we had almost 40 plays at halftime,” Carmel coach Andy Bitto said.

The Corsairs could have scored more in the first half were it not for two fumbles forced by the Streaks (7-4), which ended promising drives.

The Streaks’ defensive line, anchored by Parker Woodall, was able to keep the Corsairs’ runners from breaking through into the defensive backfield. It also left linebackers, including Kyle Sahs, free to make stops for losses on some plays.

“We weren’t getting to the second level because those three guys up front were causing us problems,” Bitto said. “So instead of getting 8 to 10 yards like we normally do, we get four, and then you’ve got to be much more precise in your offense when that happens.”

Woodall said the defense gave its all Friday.

“We definitely played as best we could,” said Woodall, a senior who will play next year at Division-III Monmouth College. “We got plenty of stops, but in the end we just couldn’t shut them down.”

In the third quarter, a fortunate bounce on a Corsairs punt set up Carmel’s only touchdown. After a three-and-out series, Carmel punted from its 24-yard line. But the ball hit a Woodstock player who was blocking downfield, and the Corsairs (10-1) recovered at the Woodstock 36. Three plays later, Eric Stevenson ran for 23 yards on fourth-and-3. The Corsairs scored on the next play when Mike Taylor ran it in from the 6.

The Streaks made it close late. On fourth-and-32 from the Woodstock 16, Brown hit Zach Shannon on an inside route. Shannon made a move on his man and broke downfield for a 63-yard catch-and-run.

“As soon as I caught the ball it was just however I could make a move and go around him,” Shannon, a senior, said. “I hurt my calf last week, and it was just ‘please, don’t cramp up’ the entire time down the field until I fell.”

After a pass interference penalty against Carmel, Brown found wide receiver Tom Wilson for an 8-yard touchdown pass with 2:36 remaining.

But the Streaks couldn’t convert an onside kick, and when they did get the ball back with 10 seconds remaining, it was too late.

“We were that close from winning this game,” Brown said. “... All my throws were pretty much low [tonight], and it’s because my hands were freezing. Toward the end I put on some mittens, I had like 10 hand warmers, and we got it going.”

The Streaks had hoped to reach the quarterfinals or semifinals, Brown said.

But this season will give the returning players something to build on, Beard said.

“We lost our first game, and then we played well through the season, little minor setbacks here and there,” he said. “But I just think there’s a lot of pride, a lot of blue pride and a lot of trust in one another here that I think is going to be built on next year.”