Coalers, Comets win; 'Cats in trouble

Coal City's defense held the visiting Plano Reapers scoreless during two periods and stepped up when they were needed most to win 19-14 Friday night.. Coal City scored first when Asa Cooper hustled 11 yards for the touchdown with 8:20 remaining in the second quarter. Plano answered in the same period with a one-yard TD run making it 7-6 at half-time.

With 7:31 remaining in the 3rd, Coal City's Brady Crawford intercepted a Reaper pass and ran it in to make it 13-6.

Cooper gave the Coalers some breathing room before the third quarter was through on a same play, same result ,11-yard TD run to go up 19-6.  Plano scored on a pass with 7:42 left in the game, hitting the two point conversion, making it 19-14 and the Coalers held on from there, improving to 4-1 overall and 2-0 in the conference. They travel to Sandwich next.

COMETS BURN THE PANTHERS

Reed-Custer was firing on all cylinders Friday night, scoring in every quarter to defeat Manteno 48-28.

The win improves the Comets to 2-3 overall, 1-2 in the Interstate Eight Conference, as they look to carry their momentum to Lisle on Friday to face the Lions who are 5-0, 3-0 in the I-8, coming off a 14-3 victory over Herscher..

Reed-Custer trailed 21-7 in the opening period when quarterback Josh Loomis connected with AJ Cherry for a 66-yard touchdown pass to narrow the gap to 21-14. Cherry had caught a 60-yarder earlier in the game.

The Comets tied it up 21-21 in the second when Loomis tossed a perfect spiral to Justin Read for a 51-yard score. The sent the home into the lockerroom at the half with an extra lift.

They came out in the third and took a 28-21 lead thanks to an 11-yard scamper by Loomis. Cherry hit pay dirt from 4 yards out a short time later to put the Comets up 35-21.

Manteno answered with a 45-yard touchdown run to end the third quarter trailing 35-28. But Reed-Custer wasn't done, getting a 3-yard TD run by Cherry, his third of the night, followed by an insurance touchdown by Rick Siegers who ran 74 yards to make the final 48-28.

Reed-Custer finished with a whopping 644 yards of offense, their best yet. Credit Payton Neu who was 6-for-7 on PAT kicks.

WILDCATS OUTFOXED BY BLUE DEVILS

Peotone players celebrated like they had just won a playoff game Friday night, upsetting Wilmington 19-14. It was the first time in 17 years Peotone has defeated the Wildcats, and they did it on the sly.

The Wildcats had no answer in stopping Peotone running  back Ryan Brewer who ran in a touchdown and caught a TD pass as the Blue Devils mixed things up with double hand-offs and clever plays against Wilmington's defense.

Wilmington quarterback Keaton Hopwood, who threw 5-for-8 for 57 yards, got the 'Cats on the board in the first quarter when he lofted a 13-yard pass to Conner Dempsay.

The Blue Devils closed the gap to 7-6 in the second with Brewer's 24-yard catch from quarterback Max Gesswein. Then Brewer gave the Devils a 13-7 half-time lead with a 3-yard TD run.

Wilmington came out to start the third quarter with a long drive that ended in a Dempsay TD run of 3 yards to regain the lead 14-13. They even got a break when recovering a fumble on the ensuing kickoff but failed to get it in.

The death blow came 9:56 in the fourth when Gesswin hit a wide open Logan Heflin on a 27-yard pass play that would make the final 19-14. Wilmington tried to get the ball back in the end but the Blue Devils just kept grinding it downfield, burning up the clock, to lower Wilmington's record to 2-3 overall, 0-2 in the conference.

The Wildcats will host the 3-2 Herscher Tigers on Friday