Stillman Valley runs past Aurora Christian

On a blustery November Saturday at Stillman Valley with the wind gusting and temperatures falling, it sure paid to be the team running the Wing-T and not the Spread, and the team that attempted 1 pass vs. the one who threw the ball 34 times.

Defending state champion Stillman Valley's powerful ground attack frustrated Aurora Christian as much as the conditions, and the combination created a one-sided 46-16 victory for the Cardinals in the Class 3A quarterfinals.

Stillman Valley (12-0) will host Tolono Unity next week in the semifinals while Aurora Christian's season ends at 7-5.

“We didn't quite see this coming, they are an excellent club,” Stillman Valley coach Mike Lalor said. “I think the weather kind of played a factor. The throwing game, you see balls getting knocked down by the wind in warmups. Our style of play really paid off today.”

Aurora Christian quarterback Anthony Maddie competed 13 of 34 passes for 186 yards, 1 touchdown and 2 interceptions. Almost half of those yards came on a 95-yard drive in the final two minutes of the game including a screen pass to Mitch Holtz that went 73 yards for a touchdown.

Most of the day it was a struggle to get the ball where he wanted it go. Maddie completed 4 of 8 passes for 26 yards in the first half as the Eagles fell into a 33-8 halftime hole, capped by Isaac Roberts' 45-yard field goal with the stiff wind at his back.

“Rain and cold is not the issue, wind is the issue at any level,” said Eagles coach Don Beebe, who guided his fourth team to the quarterfinals in his seven years at Aurora Christian.

“You get wind like this that gusts it's going to be very difficult. You get a high school kid who gets rattled you are in for a long day passing. You start getting down 3 touchdowns and you are forced to go back in the spread.”

The Cardinals took seven plays to go 69 yards on the opening possession and grab a 7-0 lead just 2:54 into the game. Fullback Adam Cox, who was a handful hitting the A gap all game, had both the key run a 51-yard burst up the middle and the touchdown when he stretched the ball just over the goal line on third and goal.

An interception gave the Cardinals the ball back at Aurora Christian's 35, and this time it was another returnee from last year's state championship team, running back Nate Bond, who broke free around the right end for a 14-yard touchdown run and a 14-0 lead.

Cox and Bond both rushed for 3 touchdowns. Cox carried most of the load with 204 yards on 21 carries before leaving with an ankle sprain while Bond rushed 11 times for 82 yards.

“One thing with the Wing-T, usually they have someone good at A gap, but they are not as good at other areas, the QB off tackle or pitch,” Beebe said. “This team is good at all three. As soon as you make a mistake they kill you. We couldn't stop them.

“It's not that we hadn't faced it all year, we had. But what hurt us is you have to be able to defend the outside too. You can't put eight or nine guys in the box.”

Aurora Christian switched to a double tight end formation on its next possession and fed the ball to sophomore Ryan Suttle, who ran for 65 of his 66 yards in the first half. Maddie capped the drive with a 1-yard score and then found Grayson Roberts for a 2-point conversion to bring the Eagles within 14-8 after the first quarter.

That turned out to be as close as Aurora Christian got. The Cardinals outscored the Eagles 19-0 in the second quarter by continuing to dominate on the ground. Down 25 points at halftime, the Eagles never mounted a charge in the second half.

“We have to give it to them, they really played hard today,” Aurora Christian linebacker Sam Miller said. “They ran right at us. It wasn't as much about Xs and Os as it was attitude and tenacity.

“They have some great players and they don't huddle they just get the calls from the sidelines and that puts you in a tough spot sometimes trying to adjust defenses. Hats off to them. They played well.”

Chad Beebe and Andrew Cassara both caught 5 passes. The Cardinals held Maddie, who rushed for 172 yards last week against Wilmington, to 0 yards on 11 carries.

“Anytime you get to the quarterfinals, the top eight, that is a very successful season.” Beebe said. “These eight seniors I'm very proud of them. You probably lost to the state champs today. Nothing to feel bad about. Tomorrow morning you will wake up and say you got beat by a great football team.”