Taking to the road for the third time in four weeks, the Macomb High football squad was aiming for another successful business trip.
The Bombers were on target, making the 125-mile trip to Manlius a successful one as Macomb glided its way to a 42-16 victory.
Macomb improved to 4-0 on the season, 3-0 in LincolnLand Large School Division play.
Bureau Valley dropped to 0-4 overall, 0-2 in division play.
The visitors wasted little time in taking the lead against the Storm.
The MHS defense forced a three-and-out on Bureau Valley’s first possession.
Following a 17-yard punt return by Drew Watson, the first offensive play from scrimmage by the Bombers saw quarterback Kaden Knupp connect with Watson for a 55-yard touchdown.
Hayden Katz booted the first of his six point-after-touchdown kicks, and the Bombers led 7-0 at the 9:58 mark of the opening quarter.
Bureau Valley’s second drive earned one first down before the Storm punted. An 11-yard punt return by Watson gave MHS possession at its own 26.
Macomb needed just five plays to score as a 22-yard run by Drake May set up Knupp’s second TD throw to Watson, this one 34 yards. Katz’s PAT kick made it 14-0 with 3:39 left in the first period.
The play saw Watson catch the pass in the flat before racing to his left and down the sideline for the score.
Bureau Valley followed with a 17-play drive that started on its own 28.
The Storm had a third-and-six from the Macomb seven. But a pair of incomplete passes ended the drive, turning the ball over on downs back to the Bombers.
“Defensively we were able to set the tone early by getting off the field early in drives,” said MHS coach Tanner Horrell. “They were able to extend their third drive on a couple of third/fourth downs, but our defense did a great job keeping them out of the end zone when they got inside the 10 yard line.”
MHS scored eight plays later. Set up by a 51-yard pass play from Knupp to Watson, May’s two-yard TD run put Macomb up 21-0 with 3:06 before halftime.
But the visitors weren’t done yet. Knupp threw his third TD pass of the half, this one a 19-yarder to Kyler Norton, who out-fought the Storm defender to come down with the ball in the endzone.
Katz’s PAT gave Macomb a 28-0 lead with 1:21 left before the break.
The Bomber defense forced another three-and-out with the Storm punting away.
MHS took over at its own 44 with 8.5 seconds to go.
After one incomplete pass attempt, Knupp connected with Norton for a 56-yard score on the half’s final play.
Norton raced down the left sideline, catching the ball at the Storm 30 on his way to the score.
Another Katz PAT gave Macomb a 35-0 lead at halftime.
Macomb wasted little time to score its final touchdown of the contest that set the continuous clock into motion early in the second half.
Starting at their own 20, the Bombers needed just three plays with May outracing the Bureau Valley defense for a 66-yard TD run.
Katz’s kick gave Macomb a 42-0 lead 74 seconds into the second half.
Bureau Valley scored twice in the fourth period.
Dane Stewart scored on a 10-yard run with Brandon Carrington adding the PAT run for the Storm’s first TD.
Keenyn Richter then added a 27-yard run and Wyatt Smith the PAT run to close out the game’s scoring.
Offensively for Macomb, Knupp finished 9-of-13 passing for 268 yards and four touchdowns.
Watson finished with six catches for 182 yards and two scores, while Norton added two grabs for 75 yards and two TDs.
Nolan Hoge also recorded one catch for 11 yards.
“It was good to get our passing game going,” said Horrell. “Kaden found the open wide receivers and made some great throws. Drew and Kyler made some great catches and were able to create explosive plays with the ball in their hands.”
“Our O-line also did an outstanding job of giving Kaden a clean pocket,” he added.
On the ground, May finished with 101 yards rushing on six carries.
Defensively, Jeshua McPheeters recorded eight total tackles, while May added six total tackles.
Blaze Howell added five and Hoge four for the Bombers.
Will Thomas also had a fumble recovery. “Jeshua McPheeters continues to get better and made some really nice plays,” said Horrell. “Blaze Howell continued to do a great job of using his quickness and instincts on the D-line to create negative and short gains.”
Bureau Valley QB Aiden Litherland finished 2-of-6 for 35 yards.
Stewart recorded 55 yards rushing on 14 carries.
The Storm finished with 174 yards rushing on 38 carries, many of those coming in the second half.
The Bombers return to the road this week, heading to Breese for a non-division game against Mater Dei.
The Knights (1-3) recorded their first win last week, winning at Harrisburg 52-21.
This week’s game will be the home opener for Mater Dei after playing road games at Columbia (lost 23-22), Breese Central (lost 46-0) and Effingham H.S. (lost 24-14).
Those three teams have a combined record of 10-2.
