Battle of the unbeatens: AC verses BCC
Aurora Christian wide receiver Matt Morse will spend this Thanksgiving weekend the same place he has been the past two - Memorial Stadium.
There's one big difference. Instead of watching the state championships, the Eagles' All-State wide receiver will be playing in one.
Aurora Christian will try to bring home the first football championship, not just for themselves but for any Aurora school, when the Eagles meet Bloomington Central Catholic at 7 p.m. Friday night in the Class 4A state championship game.
"I've been going and watching other teams play and thinking what it would be like," Morse said. "Now to be going down it's unbelievable."
The game pits a pair of 13-0 teams, making it the only one of the eight championship games that both teams enter unbeaten.
"It's going to be a phenomenal football game," Aurora Christian coach Don Beebe said. "Usually games like this are blowouts, I just hope it is in our favor."
Morse (55 receptions, 1,075 yards) is one of the key reasons the Eagles have got this far. With 19 touchdown receptions, he is one TD catch shy of becoming the 13th receiver in state history to catch 20 touchdowns in a season.
His quarterback, Jordan Roberts, knows something about state history. He has the most career passing touchdowns (123) and passing yards (9,390).
"We know that Aurora has a great passing attack," Bloomington coach Bobby Moews said. "They have a talented quarterback and some very good wide receivers, so finding a way to slow those guys down will be a big part of our game plan heading into the finals."
Moews' Saints will be trying to take one step further than last year, when they also were 13-0 entering the state title game and lost 48-24 to Driscoll.
Bloomington's defensive-line averages 219 pounds, and linebackers 191. Averaging just 194 pounds, Aurora Christian's offensive line isn't big, but Braxton Warner, Dean Griffing, Andru Ubert, David Benson and Dylan Smith have given Roberts the time he needs, and also opened up holes for running back Lewis Gaddis (1,306 yards).
"The one steady and constant for us all season has been our defense," Moews said. "They have been very stingy against the run and it all starts with our front four. Those guys set the tone and do a lot of different things to disrupt the run games of our opponents."
Bloomington's offensive line is bigger than the Eagles', averages 233 pounds, but they do give up a little size to Aurora's Christian's defensive line (averaging 248 pounds). Containing Peter Kariotis (6 foot, 317 pounds) will be a priority for the Saints.
The line blocks for a talented tandem. Brad Connor (753 rushing yards) and David Murray (747) are only six yards apart, and quarterback Adam Rebholz added 520. It's not a one-dimensional attack, as Rebholz has thrown for 2,174 yards and 25 touchdowns.
Bloomington has only had one close game in its 13 wins, 21-17 over Quincy Notre Dame in the quarterfinals. No other game was closer than 16 points.
Aurora Christian has a had a few tougher tests, including eight games decided by 17 or less. The Eagles have won them all and hope they have what it takes to win one more.
"We realize we aren't finished yet," Beebe said. "There's some unfinished business. I've been to five Super Bowls as a loser and that isn't fun. You feel like your whole season was defeated. This is a little different, but we have to go down there and win to really cap this thing off."