Mustangs’ foe looks familiar: Gibson City a mirror image of Morrison
|
|
| Morrison’s Kyle Janssen is one of the Mustangs’ weapons in the backfield. (Philip Marruffo/pmarruffo@svnmail.com) |
| Buy Sauk Valley Media Photos » |
If Morrison is to earn its first-ever trip to the state football finals, it will have to beat a team that goes about its business the same way the Mustangs do.
Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley (11-1) runs the ball primarily out of the Wing-T formation, just like Morrison (12-0). Each has capable quarterbacks, but prefers to keep the ball on the ground. And each plays stout defense in a 3-5-3 alignment, with the Mustangs (8.7 ppg allowed) a bit stiffer than the Falcons (15.5 ppg).
“They’re a mirror image of us in a lot of ways,” Morrison coach Cory Bielema said.
“Watching them on film, it’s amazing how similar we are,” ninth-year Gibson City coach Mike Allen said. “It’s like we’re watching ourselves.”
The first thing that sticks out is each team has a workhorse running back.
For the Mustangs, it’s Josh Vos, with 211 carries for 1,810 yards and 27 touchdowns. Kyle Janssen (88-883, 13 TDs) and Conner Bealer (64-481, 5 TDs) are also threats, but at crunch time, as it was in the fourth quarter of last week’s gut-wrenching 14-7 win over Orion, Vos got the ball.
For the Falcons, the top runner is Michael Romshek, with 226 carries for 1,907 yards and 25 touchdowns. Romshek also tops the team in receptions with 20, for 429 yards and four scores.
“We have to do what we’ve done against all the good running backs this year,” Vos, also the Mustangs’ top linebacker, said. “We have to be able to shut him down, and then try and stop whatever else they throw at us. First of all, we have to stop their running game.”
Gibson City also has a standout at quarterback in Stephan Birt, who has completed 55 of 103 passes for 1,169 yards and 13 TDs, with just six interceptions. Romshek’s catches are primarily out of the backfield, while the top outside threat is Cody Gaesser, a 6-foot-4, 190-pounder with 18 catches for 382 yards and seven TDs.
Gibson City’s only loss came in Week 2, 40-12 against Lexington, which is still alive in the Class 1A playoffs and is visiting Lena-Winslow on Saturday. The loss to the 12-0 Minutemen, according to Allen, was an eye-opening experience.
“Honestly, it’s the best thing that could have happened to us,” Allen said. “You don’t want to lose a game, but it really helped us. It showed we weren’t nearly as good as we thought we were, and we’ve been a different team since.”
For Morrison, the warts on an undefeated season thus far have been few and far between, but Bielema noted his team is far from a finished product.
“We’ve had games where we’ve played outstanding defense and our offense has suffered,” Bielema said. “We’ve had games where our offense has run really well and we’ve had lapses on defense. We’ve had a couple where the offense and defense have done well and we’re dropping punts and what-not.
“We’re looking each week to make improvements. I think if we can put it all together, we’ll be in good shape.”
A definite advantage the Mustangs have will be playing in the friendly confines of E.M. ‘Bud’ Cole Field. There will be a sea of red behind their bench, a boisterous group of tailgaters across the street and a playing surface they know every inch of.
“I know I’d much rather be here this week than travel the 3 1/2 hours they’re going to have to,” Bielema said. “That’s a reward for our season and we’re going to take advantage of that hopefully.”
Class 2A playoffs
Semifinal: Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley at Morrison
When: 2 p.m. Saturday
Where: E.M. ‘Bud’ Cole Field
Local radio: WSDR-AM (1240), WSSQ-FM (94.3)
