UHigh On a Mission for State Championship Glory
Written by lplyon1@ilstu.edu on November 21, 2024
NORMAL Ill. – After a very impressive regular season and playoffs up to this point, UHigh football is set for their first semifinal game in program history this Saturday.
UHigh coach Brody Walworth, the Pioneers’ head coach for the last four years, discussed the team’s success to this point and emphasized their upcoming semifinal matchup.
The Pioneers finished the regular season with a 7-2 record, winning their last four games of the regular season.
Coach Walworth said this when asked about the season to this point: “We have a group of 20 seniors who have been with us all four years and have been able to buy into our core values: family, service, and excellence.”
Some leaders that Coach Walworth wanted to highlight are Cole Matejka (DL), Alek Weiland (QB), Drew Rader (TE/LB), and several more. All of these players have helped the Pioneers get to this point.
As for the playoffs, the Pioneers score is 3-0. So far, they have defeated Manteno (41-14), Olney (48-13), and Cahokia (31-12).
Coach Walworth commented on some things that stood out to him in these matchups so far. “In the Cahokia game our defense really stood out, we had six fourth down stops. When your defense can help you out it goes a long way. A huge momentum boost for us. In the Olney game, we took a big misdirection play 70 yards for a touchdown. A big boost for our offense in the rest of the game. And then again in the Manteno game we had some big plays. Alex, our quarterback, got hit pretty hard and was able to get right back and score a rushing touchdown on the very next play.”
On Saturday, UHigh will face 9-3 Mt. Zion in the 4A State Semifinals. Mt. Zion is no easy opponent, most notably their wide receiver, who is currently committed to Illinois.
“I think physicality on the front lines is gonna be number one, I mean we play in the Central State 8, one of the toughest conferences around…. Mt. Zion presents one of those tough fronts… It is gonna be hard to hold them down so offensively we are going to have to find ways to score. Close tight games come down to turnovers, so if we can limit our turnovers and create one on defense for us,” Coach Walworth added.
The UHigh Pioneers will play the Mt. Zion Braves on Saturday at 7 pm at Hancock Stadium. The winner of this contest will advance to the 4A state championship.
