Redskins playoff bound

PLAINFIELD - Morris relied Saturday on the left arm of defensive end Tim Sereno, the play-calling ability of quarterback Matt Hussey and the speed of 230-pound fullback Drew Tondini. That the Redskins incorporated the abilities of three senior captains into a season-salvaging victory surprised no one at the Plainfield North football field. Nobody could have predicted, however, that they would use what they did from the trio to hold off the equally desperate Tigers and sneak into the postseason as an at-large qualifier. When a 14-7 Morris lead was seemingly erased by a North touchdown on the first play of the fourth quarter, a Sereno extra-point block kept the Redskins in front. Hussey then implored Morris coach George Dergo to give the ball to Tondini, who broke off a 41-yard touchdown run for a much more comfortable 8-point lead with 8:58 to play. Morris held on for a 21-13 victory in its final Southwest Prairie Conference game and kept alive its streak of postseason qualifying seasons, which is now at eight. “We knew it was one we had to have, and we got the job done,” said Tondini. “This would’ve been the first time in a long time that the Redskins didn’t get there (to the postseason). We knew that, and we didn’t want it to happen to us.” One key play from a non-captain provided the winning points for the Redskins, who were tied with the Tigers at 7-7 at halftime. Junior Matt Gronek received the opening kickoff of the second half at the North 3-yard line. He burst straight forward before cutting left about 20 yards upfield and completing a 97-yard touchdown return. Senior David Balzer added the extra point, which was an afterthought at the time. “They kicked it deep,” said Gronek. “The wedge was set up fine, and I was able to get through it untouched. There was some great blocking on the play, and all I had to do was run... fast.” The teams punted away their next two possessions, with Balzer’s kick following the second failed Morris drive going out of bounds at the North 44. Tigers senior Andrew Sparks ran 34 yards on a first-down quarterback draw to put North in business. Six plays later, Devonta Davis ran 3 yard off tackle to the left and into the end zone. North’s euphoria about scoring was tempered when Sereno knocked down the kick of North senior Tim Eulitz. “Devin (Singer, a Morris linebacker) started pointing and yelling, 'There’s an opening. There’s an opening,'” said Sereno. “Basically I just took it. I was able to get back in there, and had it hit off of my left arm. We do special teams for probably 35 or 40 minutes in practice every day, so we work on them a lot.” Senior tailback and captain Adam Tondini rushed 29 times for the Redskins during the game, and when the next Morris drive began at the Redskins’ 30, Drew Tondini had gotten only three carries. After four Adam Tondini runs started the series, Hussey convinced Dergo to try a fullback dive on third-and-2. “Matt Hussey is really starting to learn the game,” said Dergo. “That one is a credit to him. This is his first year as a varsity quarterback. He wasn’t a quarterback as a freshman, and then he played it as a sophomore. He saw that they were gunning for that (stopping Adam Tondini), and that it would be wide open for the fullback. It’s a big compliment to him. He does a very nice job of managing the game.” As Hussey sold a fake to the tailback, Drew Tondini went untouched through what should have been the teeth of the North defense. He continued to run straight upfield and just did beat the Tigers safety into the end zone. “We were really pounding it at them with Adam,” said Drew Tondini. “He was picking up short gains and moving the ball up the field. I guess that’s all that (the touchdown) was really designed to be, but no one saw me with the ball at first.” The Tigers responded with a drive that began at their own 20 before they picked up two first downs on Sparks runs and moved the ball to their own 46. Morris then forced them into a third-and-13 situation, and Adam Tondini intercepted the downfield Sparks pass and returned it to the Morris 46. With 4:31 to play when they took over, the Redskins ran three times on their next drive but had to punt. A personal-foul penalty on North backed it up to its own 10 to begin its next drive. The Tigers were soon forced to go for it on fourth-and-7 from their own 13, and the Bryce Corrigan pass attempt was incomplete. Morris did not put the game away when it took over, as four running plays resulted in a turnover on downs at its own 9 with 51.2 seconds to go and the Tigers out of timeouts. On the first play of the Tigers last-ditch drive, Morris junior defensive back Jordan Bruyn picked off a halfback-pass attempt by North’s Alex Helriegel. After two Hussey kneel-downs, the victory was official. “There are so many players on this team capable of stepping up and making big plays,” said Sereno. “A lot of juniors have helped us get here. Kevin Henry has stepped in at linebacker, my old spot, and come around so fast. (Matt) Gronek is another junior who’s so fast and dangers, and (Danny) Niewinski is the same way. Tyler Thetard has come around at defensive end. And of course, we have plenty of great seniors like the Tondinis that do great things too.” The teams combined on three first downs in a scoreless first quarter. Morris forced North to punt away its first possession of the second quarter, and Adam Tondini ran six times on the ensuing series for the Redskins. On the sixth carry, he went off tackle to the right, broke a tackle in the backfield and otherwise was untouched on a 22-yard touchdown scamper for a 7-0 Redskins lead. Sparks broke off a 31-yard run to the Morris 15 on the North series that followed after the Tigers had moved into Morris territory for the first time since the opening drive of the game on a Morris penalty. Three plays later, Corrigan passed to Helriegel on a slant route. Helriegel caught the pass as he was crossing the goal line for a 13-yard touchdown, and Eulitz tied the game at 7-7 with a successful point-after try.