Hononegah wins share of NIC-10 title with win over Belvidere in regular season finale (print)

BELVIDERE, Ill. — It was a week almost perfectly designed to result in some sluggishness on the field from the Hononegah football team.

Instead, the Indians came out with nearly flawless execution on a crisp and clear Friday night, stomping Belvidere 44-16 to win a share of the NIC-10 title with Belvidere North and finish the regular season at 8-1.

“We treat every week the same as far as consistency and so forth,” head coach Brian Zimmerman said. “The goal is to win a conference championship, and they accomplished that. We're excited about that.”

It is Hononegah's second-straight title and the third in four years.

The quest became more complicated given the circumstances.

The Indians had overcome a 19-7 deficit against Belvidere North in a wild 22-19 victory last Friday to put themselves in position to share the NIC-10 title. Maybe they would find themselves in a hangover after riding so high?

The Bucs have won just eight total games since 2017 and only have one victory this year, a 13-6 triumph over winless Rockford Auburn. Maybe Hononegah would play down to the competition?

And then there is the off-the-field happening. The family of a former Hononegah Community High School football player is suing the district, principal Chad Dougherty, athletic director Andrew Walters, head football coach Brian Zimmerman, assistant coach Jeremy Warren and the school’s chief Title IX officer Kendra Asbury in federal court alleging the coaching staff showed the plaintiffs’ letter, which was regarding an ineligibility issue that led to the forfeit of a victory, to the player whose eligibility was in question. That allegedly precipitated weeks of harassment and bullying during school hours and at football practice with the plaintiffs arguing the school and coaches wouldn't intervene.

“Our coaches just reminded us that it doesn’t matter, it’s to distract us,” senior Kurt Smith said. “That’s what it’s for. So, we're not going to let them get what they want, and we're going to stay focused on what's coming. And that's a playoff run.”

The Indians’ 38-13 win over Harlem was forfeited and made it so the Blue Thunder’s 34-20 win over the Huskies on Friday clinched them a share of the conference crown with Hononegah.

Provided the Indians beat the Bucs, first.

Hononegah came out on fire, scoring on all six of its first-half possessions. Five of those were touchdowns with Zachary Pinkston's 24-yard field goal to cap off the opening possession as the lone exception.

“The offensive line did a great job, our backs ran hard and (QB) Dom Kelly did a great job," Zimmerman said. "He does what he does, he scrambled a little bit and got yards with his legs when he needed to.”

Kelly ran five times for 32 yards including an 18-yard touchdown dash up the middle that made it 44-8 going into halftime. He was 4-for-7 with 71 yards and a touchdown pass.

It was the trenches where the Indians truly dominated as Kurt Smith had 104 yards and Brock Anderson added 58 on just three carries to help the offense finish with 242 yards on the ground. The Bucs were held to 75.

“Brock is my partner back there," Smith said. "We complement each other. When we're both on the field, you don't know which way the ball is going. It's good to have him.”

Anderson’s 19-yard run combined with Brayden Layne’s 15-yard catch set up the field goal on the opening drive before Hononegah scored on the first play from scrimmage on back-to-back drives with Smith busting downfield for a 41-yard score, the extra point was missed, and Kelly hitting Rodriguez for a 19-yard score after the Indians’ defense had recovered Belvidere’s fumbled snap.

A 29-yard rush by Anderson set up a 10-yard scoring run by Smith to make it 23-0 after one quarter. The Bucs answered when Demetrious Taborn’s 41-yard catch set up a one-yard TD run by QB Garrett Nash and a 2-point conversion catch from Jason Labeau.

But Smith hit back with a 12-yard rushing score and Hononegah’s defense made up for the blemish when sophomore linebacker Brody Sendele picked off an underthrown pass from Nash and took it 46 yards down the sideline for a pick-six.

“I had to go collision on the number two wide receiver, and then the ball was right there,” Sendele said. “I just put my hands out. It felt pretty good. I had a pick earlier in the season, but it didn't count. I knew (I could take it for a score).”

With the margin so wide, Zimmerman sent in his second teamers for a majority of the second half.

The Indians were awarded the seventh seed and will host No. 25 Willowbrook in an IHSA 7A playoff opener at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Hononegah stomped Willowbrook 44-0 in the first round last year.

“The playoffs are a completely different animal," Zimmerman said. "But we'll have everybody emotionally charged and ready to go."

• BOXSCORE:

HONONEGAH 44, BELVIDERE 16

Hono………. 23 21 0 0 — 44

Belvidere… 8 0 0 8 — 16

H — Pinkston, 24, field goal

H — Smith, 41, run (kick failed)

H — Rodriguez, 19, pass from Kelly (Pinkston kick)

H — Smith, 10, run (Pinkston kick)

B — Nash, 1, run (Labeau pass from Nash)

H — Smith, 12, run (Pinkston kick)

H — Sendele, 46, interception (Pinkston kick)

H — Kelly, 18, run (Pinkston kick)

B — Medina, 6, run (Villarreal run)

TEAM STATS: First downs — H 16, B 11. Rushing — H 30-223, 28-75. Passing — H 96, B 138. Passes — H 13-7-0, B 27-16-1. Fumbles — H 1-0, B 2-2. Punts — H 3-34.7, 4-24.8. Penalties — H 5-36, B 4-34.

INDIVIDUAL LEADERS: Rushing — H, Smith 8-104, Anderson 3-58, Banker 6-33, Kelly 5-32. B, Alvarez 6-26, Villarreal 5-23. Passing — H, Kelly 7-4-0, 71, Lane 1-1-0, 18, Shockley 5-2-0, 7. B, Nash 18-11-1, 90. Medina 8-5-0, 48. Receiving — H, Rodriguez 3-56, Hagg 1-18, Lane 1-15. B, Taborn 5-67, Villarreal 6-65.