By Loran Lewis
With Galesburg trailing 44-0 and about three minutes left in the third quarter, the football gods must have decided to show mercy to the Silver Streaks in their season opener at home Friday evening.
During the third quarter, a strong, cold north wind suddenly swept onto the field. A few minutes later, lightning bolts lit up the night. Referees and coaches huddled and then decided to delay the game for 30 minutes. Once the teams took refuge in their locker rooms, the game was called.
It was an unexpected ending to a frustrating night on both sides of the ball for Galesburg.
Second-year head coach Shawn Hickey summed up some of the team’s problems after the game.
“The offensive line needs to do a better job of picking up blitzing. We had bad tackling. Those things add up,” he said. “On that last touchdown, we had the guy tackled for a loss, but we didn’t get the tackle.”
Statistics were not available after the game; however, the HUDL fan page credited Dunlap with 314 total yards – 139 passing and 175 rushing. Galesburg had minus-6 total yards – 28 passing and minus-34 rushing.
The Silver Streaks also had two turnovers on fumbles – one coming at the 1-yard line that resulted in a touchdown.
The Eagles dominated from the opening drive, with running back Jayden Schmidt taking the ball into the end zone at 7:30 of the first quarter. The Eagles added a two-point conversion and never looked back.
Hickey was quick to credit the Eagles with having a dominant team and controlling the game.
“(Brett) Cazalet has an outstanding team, far better than last year, I think,” Hickey said. “We saw how good the defense was. They’re a good team with the potential for a playoff run.”
Dunlap has made the Class 5A playoffs for 10 consecutive seasons but has not won a title in that time.
Hickey said the Dunlap defense mixed things up against his offense and disrupted the team’s rhythm. “They put us in some tough situations.”
As for the Silver Streaks, Hickey said he saw glimpses of good things to come, such as a few penalties. However, for this week, practices will focus on tackle drills and execution on both sides of the ball, he said.
Galesburg will play at Limestone High School at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 5.
In the freshman game that preceded the varsity, Dunlap defeated Galesburg 21-14.
