Coming off three lop-sided wins, the Macomb High football team was leaving nothing to chance Friday evening at Gary Johnson Field.
Making the 90-mile trip to Wyoming (the Illinois town, not the state), the Bombers faced Stark County in a battle of unbeatens in a LincolnLand crossover contest.
The visitors grabbed control in the opening half and never let go, cruising to a 41-0 victory against the host Rebels.
Macomb improved to 4-0, while Stark County slipped to 3-1.
Facing a Class 1A opponent for the third time in four weeks, the Class 4A Bombers asserted themselves immediately.
Winning the coin toss and deferring to the second half, the Macomb defense made its presence known on the third play from scrimmage as Kyler Norton intercepted a Kaedon Steelman pass.
Then it was time for the offense. Starting from its own 12, Macomb drove 88 yards in six plays.
Drake May’s 30-yard run opened the drive before quarterback Kaden Knupp connected with Norton for a 35-yard scoring strike.
Hayden Katz booted the first of his five point-after-touchdown kicks and the Bombers led 7-0.
“I thought our defense really set the tone on the opening drive getting the interception from Kyler,” said MHS coach Tanner Horrell.
Stark County managed one first down on its next drive before being forced to punt.
Starting from their own 27, an incomplete pass and a penalty on the Bombers pushed the ball back to the 22. But on the next play Knupp found an open Norton behind the Stark County defense for a 78-yard score.
The Katz PAT kick gave Macomb a 14-0 lead with 4:15 left in the opening quarter.
The MHS defense forced a three-and-out and punt on Stark County’s next possession.
Starting from its own 38, Macomb drove 62 yards in seven plays. Knupp’s 24-yard run on a third-and-11 kept the drive alive.
Colby Martin added a 17-yard run before Knupp scored on a 4-yard run two plays later.
The PAT failed, but the Bombers led 20-0 with just 18.2 seconds remaining in the period.
Stark County’s next play from scrimmage was an interception by May, giving Macomb possession at the Rebel 45.
Macomb scored seven plays later on a May 26-yard run. The kick made it 27-0 with 9:34 remaining before halftime.
Stark County attempted an end around to start its next drive. Louis O’Bryant gained 15 yards on the play, but fumbled with May recovering the ball for the Bombers at midfield.
The Bombers drove deep into Rebels territory on their next possession, but Katz’s 28-yard field goal attempt was no good, leaving the score 27-0.
Macomb forced a Stark County three-and-out, but the Bombers turned the ball over as Knupp was intercepted by Jackson Knoblauch at the Rebel 46.
MHS forced another Rebel punt taking over at its own 22 with 1:52 to go before halftime.
The Bombers drove 78 yards in six plays. Knupp completed three passes for 45 yards before closing out the drive with a 34-yard TD run with 26.4 seconds left before intermission.
The PAT by Katz gave the Bombers a 34-0 lead entering the break.
The Bombers closed out the game’s scoring early in the second half.
Starting from its own 46, MHS scored three plays later when Martin ran 43 yards for the score.
Katz’s final PAT of the night made it 41-0 with 10:33 left in the third frame.
The remainder of the game was played with a continuous clock.
Macomb recorded 484 yards of offense. Knupp finished 6-of-13 passing for 183 yards with two TDs and one INT. He also ran for 87 yards on five carries with two scores.
Norton had four catches for 152 yards and two scores, while Carter Havens added two grabs for 31 yards.
“Offensively our line did a great job of protecting Kaden, and he was able to find Kyler and Carter for some explosive plays,” said Horrell. “It was also nice to see Kaden use his legs this week, something we didn’t ask him to do much of the first 3 weeks.”
The Bombers also had 301 yards rushing on 37 carries. May added 80 yards on eight carries, while Martin added 77 yards on eight carries.
“Anytime you can run for 300 yards the line deserves a ton of credit,” Horrell added. “They created creases against a loaded box for Drake, Colby and Kaden.”
Defensively, May finished with eight total tackles, while Martin and Jeshua McPheeters added five total tackles each. Havens also had an interception.
Steelman finished 3-of-15 for 35 yards and three INTs. He also ran for 22 yards on six carries.
Knoblauch had 41 yards rushing on 11 carries. “Every week our goal is to win the turnover battle and we did a great job of creating four turnovers,” said Horrell. “Our DBs did a tremendous job in coverage all night, contesting every pass and not letting anyone behind them. Our d-line and linebackers did another great job of containing their running game.”
After playing on the road the past two weeks, the Bombers return home this week, welcoming in Highland for a non-conference contest.
The Bulldogs, with an enrollment of 798 will make the 170-mile trip from east of Edwardsville to McDonough County.
Highland is a member of the South Seven Conference, along with Carbondale, Marion, Mt. Vernon and Cahokia.
Highland lost to Troy Triad 41-27 in the opening week, but has since defeated Belleville Althoff Catholic (28-21), Mascoutah (56-52) and Marion (60-49).
“They have an explosive offense,” said Horrell. “They do a really good job of using formations to create mismatches and finding space for their playmakers.”
“Defensively we are going to have to be very disciplined and make sure we know where No. 7 (Carter Harris) is at all times,” he added. “The biggest focus this week will be alignment, communication, and tackling in space.”
“Defensively, Highland has shown a couple of different looks,” Horrell continued. “They will be the biggest team we’ve seen so far so it’ll be a good challenge for our guys to win the battle at the line of scrimmage. We have to do a good job of protecting the football and not giving Highland extra possessions.”
While Highland is the largest opponent by enrollment for the Bombers in the regular season, Macomb is the second smallest enrollment- wise that the Bulldogs will face.
“We’re really looking forward to the challenge of going up against a bigger school and seeing where we stand,” said Horrell.
