Will runs for 286 yards, SMCC blows out SJCC

FREMONT — St. Mary Central Catholic has done a lot of winning the past two seasons. The Panthers were champions of the Northern 8 Conference a season ago, but one thing eluded SMCC. That one thing was an undefeated season and the No. 1 seed in the league playoffs. The Panthers checked both of those boxes Saturday with a 53-14 thumping of Fremont St. Joseph Central Catholic at Don Paul Stadium. "I think we did a crappy job covering kicks," SMCC coach Toby Hammond said. "We were working on St. Joe in the summer. We knew they were going to be good. They have a good quarterback (Zach Ohms). We've worked on coverages to throw him off and I think it really helped." SMCC improved to 10-0 and finished the league slate with a record of 9-0. The Panthers will host fourth-seeded Chalker (5-5, 5-4) in next Saturday's N8 semifinals. "This has been our goal since summer two-a-days," SMCC running back Josh Will said. "We wanted to go 10-0, but we want an undefeated season and to be better than last year. I think we can do it." Will was a big reason why the Panthers were so successful. He finished with 22 carries for 286 yards and two touchdowns. The statistics are made even more impressive considering Will's first five carries went for a combined negative six yards. "It definitely was the biggest game of my career," Will said. "I just want to give all glory to God, first and foremost. I give all the credit to the offensive line. They did a really great job blocking tonight. We executed on offense." After SJCC (9-1, 8-1) forced an SMCC punt on the opening drive of the game, the Crimson Streaks got on the board first. SJCC tallied five first downs before Andrew Spieldenner scored on a two-yard run. The extra point gave the Streaks a 7-0 lead with 3:11 to go in the first quarter. SMCC didn't wait long to respond. Quarterback Cullen Dillard hit Trace Smith for 12 yards on the first play of the next drive. After a run for no gain from Will, Dillard connected with Cayden Wikel on a tipped pass and what became a 59-yard touchdown. Matteo Di Rosa's extra point tied the game at 7. From there, SMCC kicked it up a notch on both sides of the ball. The Panthers' defense forced a three-and-out. The offense picked up three first downs in a four-play span as the first quarter ended. The Panthers added two more first downs on the first two plays of the second quarter. Three plays later, Dillard rumbled in from a yard out. Di Rosa's kick made it 14-7 with 10:03 left until halftime. SJCC got a first down on its next drive, but punted. SMCC cashed in, going 71 yards in 11 plays. The drive was capped when Smith hauled in a 19-yard touchdown pass from Dillard. That was the first of three touchdowns SMCC scored in the final three minutes of the half. SJCC took less than a minute off the clock before punting. Will responded by exploding for a 67-yard touchdown on the first play of the next Panthers drive. "He's pretty good," Hammond said. "That touchdown down the sideline where they had him pinned in was a really nice play. We run the ball. Cullen has been able to add another dimension to our offense with his ability to throw the ball. If we can't run then we have the ability to throw." On the Streaks' next possession, Wikel picked an interception and SMCC got to the SJCC 4 with less than 10 seconds to play in the half. That's when things got weird. Dillard spiked the ball after picking up a first down with 5.2 seconds left. The Panthers opted for a field goal try from Di Rosa. It was blocked, but the ball remained live behind the line of scrimmage. SJCC recovered the blocked kick, but not realizing the ball was live, handed the ball to SMCC's Eli Dinsmore. Dinsmore made a heads-up play, running into the end zone for the touchdown. After a long discussion, the touchdown was awarded to the Panthers. SMCC's lead went from 14-7 to 33-7 in less than three minutes of game time. "Our offensive line does a great job for us," Dillard said. "If they take away Josh, then we can always go with me. If they take away me, we can give the ball to Josh. We're like two good backs in the backfield and that keeps us competitive." SMCC dominated the second half on the ground. Will had an 85-yard touchdown run to make it 40-7 and send the game into a running clock. Even after the backups got in, Jace Lane exploded for an 81-yard touchdown run. The Panthers finished with 41 rushes for 504 yards on the ground. SJCC played without senior Anderson Gill, who was ejected in last week's game. "Honestly, I don't think we blocked things very well, especially on the perimeter," Hammond said. "To be quite honest, they're a different team with (Gill) at linebacker. He's a player." The meeting could be the first of two. SMCC defeated Chalker 18-14 on Oct. 17. In the other N8 semifinal, SJCC faces Plymouth, a team it defeated 66-16 on Sept. 12. If both are victorious next Saturday, they'd run it back Nov. 7 at Carey High School in the N8 championship game. "We'll probably see them again," Hammond said. "I know this was a big game for them. Like I told our players, our big game is in two weeks. We have to get there first." SMCC 7 26 7 13 — 53 SJCC 7 0 0 7 — 14 SJCC — Andrew Spieldenner 2 run (Collin Rakes kick) SMCC — Cayden Wikel 59 pass from Cullen Dillard (Matteo Di Rosa kick) SMCC — Dillard 1 run (Di Rosa kick) SMCC — Trace Smith 19 pass from Dillard (Di Rosa kick) SMCC — Josh Will 67 run (kick failed) SMCC — Eli Dinsmore 10 blocked field goal return (pass failed) SMCC — Will 85 run (Di Rosa kick) SJCC — Liam Thiessen 29 pass from Zach Ohms (Rakes kick) SMCC — Jace Lane 81 run (Di Rosa kick)