Knights claim Lincoln Prairie Conference title with win over Nokomis
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By Sally McCarthy
Even though two weeks remain in the regular season the Arthur Lovington Atwood Hammond Knights football team won the Lincoln Prairie Conference title with a 43-20 win over the Nokomis Redskins. The Knights held the head to head tie breaker over Sullivan and Cumberland who were the only teams that could possibly tie ALAH. The Knights will pick up a forfeit win next week when they were scheduled to play Cerro Gordo Bement and will travel to Villa Grove for their final game of the season on October 24.
The Knights’ final home game and senior night with Nokomis on Friday, October 10 was a hard fought battle through the first half with ALAH pulling away in the second.
The home team had to punt on their first series but scored on their other four in the first half. The first score came with 3:54 left in the first quarter on a shovel pass from Marcus Otto to Easton Frederick that went 48 yards for the touchdown. Brayan Martinez kicked the extra point and the Knights led 7-0.
After Otto picked off a Nokomis pass on the Redskins’ third possession, ALAH went to its bag of tricks for their next score. Switching quarterbacks from Cruz Hale to Otto right before the play, Otto pitched the ball to Cruz and took off down the field where Cruz hit him with a 50 yard touchdown pass. Martinez’s kick put the Knights up 14-0 with 2:39 remaining in the first.
Nokomis got on the board at the 10:31 mark of the second quarter when quarterback Kannon Jonas hit Nolan Herbstreith with a 34 yard touchdown pass. Kadynn Petty kicked the extra point and the home team’s lead was cut in half at 14-7.
ALAH’s senior running back Frederick would pick up his second td in the game on a 12 yard run with 6:59 left in the half. Martinez missed the EP kick but the lead was extended to 20-7.
The Redskins answered on their next series with Daryl Evans running the ball in from 1 yard out. Petty’s kick was good and the lead was cut to 20-14.
With just 18.8 seconds till halftime, the red, black, and gold added one more touchdown when senior running back Trey Strode took the ball in from 1 yard out. The two point conversion failed but the lead was 26-14 in favor of ALAH/
The second half saw the Knights score on their first three possessions while Nokomis turned the ball over on downs twice and were forced to punt on their third series.
The first score of the second half for ALAH was a 38 yard field goal by senior Brayan Martinez that extended the home team lead to 29-14 with 8:15 left in the third quarter.
The next Knights’ td was on a 28 yard run by senior running back Brayden Leech. Martinez hit the kick and ALAH was up 36-14 with 1:17 to go in the third.
The final score in the second half came with 9:58 remaining in the game when qb Otto his senior tight end Daylon Doggett with an 80 yard pass that Doggett used his sprinter’s speed to out run the Redskin defense and take it into the end zone. Again Martinez kicked the EP making the final score for ALAH 43 points.
The Redskins had one more score with 2:04 left in the game when senior running back Evans took the ball in from 3 yards out. The conversion pass failed and ALAH came away with their seventh win of the season 43-20. The victory was also the fiftieth win for Head Coach Ryan Jefferson in his tenure with the Knights.
Stats for the week 7 game vs. Nokomis
OFFENSIVE STATS
Rushing – Marcus Otto, 6 for 73; Easton Frederick, 10 for 49 & 1 TD;Brennon Hutson, 6 for 32;Brayden Leech, 3 for 25 & 1 TD; Payton Warrior, 1 for 13; Trey Strode, 5 for 12 & 1 TD; Cruz Hale, 4 for 6
Passing – Marcus Otto, 4 for 7, 158 & 2 TD; Cruz Hale, 1 for 3, 50, 1 TD
Receiving – Daylon Doggett, 1 for 80 & 1 TD; Marcus Otto, 1 for 50 & 1 TD; Easton Frederick, 1 for 48 & 1 TD; Cash Hale, 2 for 30
DEFENSIVE STATS
Tackles – Elijah Van Scyoc, 21; Donovan Vanausdoll, 13;Easton Frederick, 12; Brennon Hutson, Jayden Parsons, Marcus Otto, 10; Kaden Herschberger, 8; Daylon Doggett, 7;Cruz Hale, 6; Cash Hale, 5; Mason Thomas, Edik Arwine, Brayden Leech, 4; Brayan Martinez, Tristan Keagle, Alex Olivero, 2; Nick Hubster, Josh Taylor, Kamden Morfey, Bentley Hutson, Jonah Burket, 1
Tackles for Loss – Elijah Van Scyoc, Brennon Hutson, Brayden Leech, Jayden Parsons, Daylon Doggett, Cruz Hale, Donovan Vanausdoll, 1
Pass Break-Ups – Elijah Van Scyoc, 3; Easton Frederick, Brayden Leech, Jayden Parsons, 1
Interceptions – Marcus Otto, 1
Forced Fumbles – Daylon Doggett, 1
SPECIAL TEAMS STATS
PATs – Brayan Martinez, 4 for 5
FGs – 1 for 1 (38 yards)
Kick-Offs – 8 for 308
Kick-Off Returns – Payton Warrior, 1 for 21; Trey Strode, 1 for 13; Daylon Doggett, 1 for 11; Marcus Otto, 1 for 0 (onside recovery)
Punts – Brennon Hutson, 1 for 42