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Aug 06, 2023

Springfield football falls to Normal U

Springfield High couldn’t have asked for better results from its first three possessions. It was just those final four drives that fizzled out that became the problem. The Senators went cold in the

Springfield High couldn’t have asked for better results from its first three possessions. It was just those final four drives that fizzled out that became the problem.

The Senators went cold in the season opener and Normal U-High capitalized on every opportunity to get a 35-18 Central State Eight Conference win at the newly renovated Memorial Stadium on Saturday evening.

“I’m flabbergasted, to be completely honest,” second-year Springfield High coach Jon Hebb said. “This game went completely different from what we anticipated. We felt like it was going to be a competitive game but we definitely felt like we could come out on top.

“I think had we executed better in the second half, maybe we’re talking about something different right now.”

Springfield High made it look easy on its first drive. The Senators took the opening kickoff and needed 51 seconds to go 55 yards, culminating in a 2-yard run from Kameron Beckman for a touchdown and just like that, Springfield led 6-0.

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U-High's first possession couldn’t have been more different. The Pioneers (1-0) had to convert a fourth-and-one from its own 36-yard line just to get its initial first down. Then three penalties had U-High facing a second-and-30 from its 47. But U-High quarterback Alek Weiland threaded the needle between two Springfield High defenders for a 26-yard pickup on third-and-23 to prolong the drive. The Pioneers were rewarded with a 9-yard pass from Weiland to Mason Hooper-Willis to tie the game after a drive of 7 minutes, 27 seconds.

The Pioneers were flagged 14 times for 110 yards in penalties.

“What was awesome is we were able to overcome a lot of (penalties),” U-High coach Brody Walworth said. “It’s been a long time since I’ve been behind the sticks that many times and been able to convert and kudos to our offensive line — even though they were responsible for some of the penalties.

“That’s been a big part of our coaching. ‘Hey, you’re going to make some mistakes, bad things are going to happen, how you handle it matters more than the mistake’ and that reflected in our play tonight. I think our quarterback stayed calm and played awesome, too.”

The Senators struck back with an 80-yard drive that needed just 2:17 before sophomore QB Brody Scheffler found Owen Neff for an 18-yard strike as Springfield regained a 12-6 lead with 1:08 left in the first quarter.

The Senators (0-1) took an 18-13 lead midway through the second when Scheffler threw his second TD pass on a 43-yarder to Kale Thurman but an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty on the scoring celebration meant SHS needed 18 yards for its two-point attempt, which was quickly snuffed out by the Pioneers.

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Springfield had a chance to tack on to its lead near the end of the first half after forcing U-High to punt but the Senators lost 17 yards on a bad snap and then Scheffler was picked off on a third-and-27 pass with 14.4 seconds to play.

That was the start of four straight empty possessions to end the Senators’ hopes.

“This is no disrespect to Normal U-High … their offense did a great job of keeping us off the field,” Hebb said. “There was a good reason why: we obviously have a lot of good playmakers at the receiver spots.

“In the first half, we were making plays. In the second half, we only had three possessions because they did such a great job from the opening kick of keeping us on the sidelines.”

Scheffler finished his debut 19-for-33 with 294 yards and two touchdowns but he was picked off three times. Neff caught six passes for 113 yards and one score.

“We’re a talented team but we’ve got to fix the little things because the little things lead to the big things,” Hebb said. “One of our coaches in the huddle said we saw a lot more positives than we did negatives and Brody was one of those positives.

“He did a great job, he stood in the pocket and he hung in there. Another positive was our offensive line. I’m proud of those guys.”

Contact Ryan Mahan: 788-1546, [email protected], Twitter.com/RyanMahanSJR.