A strange first half of the season ended on a high note for Peotone on Sept. 26.
The Blue Devils cruised past visiting Streator 42-7 as four players rushed for touchdowns and Tyler Walker returned an interception for a score.
It was the first on-field win for Peotone (3-2, 1-2 Illinois Central Eight) in four weeks and ended an odd stretch when the usual rhythms of the season were thrown off.
The Devils opened their schedule with one of their longest road trips in recent memory, which resulted in a win at Granite City, Also mixed in were two weeks away from game action as Peotone took a forfeit win over Lisle in Week 4 after losses to Marengo and Wilmington.
It all added up to almost a month between instances of walking off the field and celebrating a win.
“Week 1 we won a game and Week 5 we won a game,” coach Tolly Tsiamas said. “That was a long 28 days. … I think our players can tell you they did not enjoy it because we were 1-2 and I was not in the best mood.”
The Devils got back to basics and back to winning against Streator. They didn’t throw a single pass, running 45 times for 287 yards. It was an efficient evening, as Tsiamas noted.
“We had the ball six times on offense and scored six times,” he said.
Leading the way were Nick Cronin, who had 20 carries for 122 yards and a TD; Tucker Cain, who finished with 10 runs for 70 yards and two scores; and Eli Chenoweth, who ended up with 10 rushes for 63 yards and a touchdown. Wayde Beechy had Peotone’s other rushing TD.
On the other side of the ball, the Devils had a shutout through three quarters.
“Defensively, we really challenged the kids,” Tsiamas said. “The previous two games we gave up 14 touchdowns on 15 drives. We moved some kids around and brought up a sophomore. The reads were better, the tackling was better.”
Now Peotone is ready for the back half of the season, which features four games against nearby conference opponents, starting with a 7 p.m. matchup at Reed-Custer on Oct. 3. Two more wins will make the Devils playoff-eligible for the sixth straight season.
“It’s become kind of the norm,” Tsiamas said. “We expect to be playing Week 10.”
Crete-Monee 51, Danville 0: The Warriors (3-2) went on the road and won their third in a row as Derrin Cunch completed 18 of 25 passes for 359 yards and six touchdowns. Couch has thrown for 1,042 yards and 16 TDs with six interceptions this season.
Dorian Patterson had 11 catches for 226 yards and three TDs, while D’Arion Yarbrough caught three passes for 60 yards and two scores. Patterson is up to 32 receptions for 460 yards and six TDs, while Yarbrough has 13 catches for 198 yards and five scores.
Crete returns to Southland action on Oct. 3 with a 7 p.m. home game against Thornridge.
Wilmington 49, Manteno 0: The visiting Panthers (3-2, 1-2 Illinois Central Eight) fell behind 35-0 in the first quarter and 42-0 at halftime.
Connor Harrod was 7-of-23 passing for 56 yards with one interception for Manteno and Kalub Jankuski had three catches for 35 yards.
The Panthers host Coal City at 7 p.m. Oct. 3.