Harlem and Hononegah to meet in our “Overtime” Game of the Week

MACHESNEY PARK, Ill. (WTVO/WQRF) — Two NIC-10 football programs with a great track record of success are ready to get after it Friday night. Hononegah and Harlem will meet at Harlem in our Overtime Game of the Week.

The Huskies have had 16 straight winning seasons, and they’ve made 15 straight playoff appearances. The Indians have made 16 straight playoff appearances. The Indians have won or shared the NIC-10 championship four times in the last seven years. Both teams come into this game 2-0. Their defenses have been superb.

“We’re playing really well defensively,” said Harlem head coach Jim Morrow. There’s a lot of young players that are stepping up for us, a lot of juniors and the sophomore Jackson Cook.”

Cook intercepted three passes last weekend in a rout of Auburn.

Hononegah’s defense has allowed only 141 yards total in two games against Auburn and Jefferson, that despite the Indians graduating their entire defensive front four from last year.

“We always feel we’ve got a little bit of an advantage on defense,” said Hononegah coach Brian Zimmerman. “We haven’t changed up our defense a whole lot, and it seems like that’s a little bit easier to pick up sometimes than our offense.”

Returning senior all-conference linebacker Kurt Smith is the heart of Hononegah’s defense.

On offense the Indians have rotated a lot of players at the skill positions the first two weeks because of blowouts. They’ve used all three of their quarterbacks.

The Huskies on offense under Morrow have become more reliant on the run game than they were in recent years under former coach Bob Moynihan. In the opening game against Belvidere, three Harlem backs combined to rush for more than 300 yards. Last week against Auburn senior Jahmani Muhammad took over rushing for 190 yards and five touchdowns.

“If he doesn’t touch the ball enough that’s going to be my fault, so I don’t want to make the mistake of not giving him the ball enough,” said Morrow.

“Muhammad is the number one guy that we have to be aware of where he’s at on the field at all times,” said Zimmerman. “Hopefully we can slow him down.”

One of the players on Hononegah’s defense who will try to slow down Muhammad is cornerback Brenden Tell. “He’s really fast, really shifty, a good player. We’ve been looking at him and film, focusing on him.”

“During the past couple weeks, we’ve definitely come together way more as a team, as a unit, we’re moving a lot smoother,” said Harlem guard Connar Penney. “We’re getting the right guys not messing up as many assignments.”

“We’re just hoping to see growth from week to week and put ourselves in a position to win,” said Morrow. “We can’t give it away because we’ve been prone to do that the last couple of games.”

Hononegah hasn’t turned the ball over so far this season. The Indians have also gotten excellent play from their special teams.

“Our special teams have really been clicking,” said Zimmerman. “I’m just really impressed with the guys on our special teams.”

NOTE: Watch for highlights and analysis of this game Friday night on “Overtime” on Fox 39. It will be shown immediately following the conclusion of the college football game on Fox Network between Arizona and Kansas State. That could be as early as 10:30 p.m. or it could be closer to the normal 11 p.m. start time for “Overtime.”

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