Villa Grove stayed with third-rated Camp Point Central for much of the first quarter in the Saturday (Oct. 30) IHSA Class 1A football playoff game.

The teams were tied, 8-8, until the final 2 minutes of the opening frame, when Camp Point went on a five-touchdown spree and pulled away from the Blue Devils, 48-14.

Liam Barr scored the first VG touchdown and passed to Layne Rund for the two-point conversion at the 3:46 mark of the first quarter.

The team’s final TD was on a 13-yard pass from Rund to Parker Stevens early in the fourth period.

Villa Grove coach Heath Wilson said one of his team’s objectives was met.

“We wanted to stop the run and make them pass to beat us,” Wilson said, “because they are not used to that.”

Camp Point completed four passes. Each one went for a touchdown and accounted for 179 of the team’s yards.

This year marked the third in Wilson’s four years as head coach that VG has qualified for the postseason. The 2020 postseason was canceled by COVID-19, eliminating the chance to qualify.

“It’s nice to get into the playoffs,” Wilson said, “but we can’t be satisfied. We need, sooner or later, to make a run and advance.”

Wilson said the future looks bright.

“With only six seniors, we have a lot of kids returning,” Wilson said, “and a lot of young kids got to experience playoff football.”

One of the returnees is junior Luke Zimmerman. With a team-high 12 tackles in his finale, Zimmerman broke the school’s single-season tackling record.

He ended the year with 155 stops. The previous mark (149) was set by A.J. Woodworth in 2008.

Zimmerman was also the team’s rushing leader for the season. He gained 34 of his 788 yards against Camp Point. He averaged 6.4 yards per carry this season.

Counting returns and receiving yards, Zimmerman amassed 1,016 all-purpose yards for the year.

Barr led the Blue Devils in scoring (48 points) and passing yards (782). Rund was the top receiver (295 yards) and Brady Clodfelder led in receptions (16).

Wilson was pleased that the COVID-shortened season which took place during the 2020-21 school year wasn’t repeated.

Football programs in the state were allowed six games, and they took place in March and April.

“We were playing for something this year,” Wilson said, referring to the playoffs, “whereas last year it was for the seniors to get their last games in.

“We weren’t just playing to say we’d played a football game.”

The current group of VG seniors is a special one for Wilson. They were freshmen when he took over the program.

“These are the kids I came in with,” Wilson said.

Villa Grove ends the season with a 5-5 record. Camp Point Central advances into the second round with a 9-1 mark.

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Villa Grove football coach Heath Wilson is thankful that 256 high schools qualify for the football playoffs.

Had the number been 255, the Blue Devils would have been on the sidelines after dropping a 49-22 decision in their regular-season finale on Friday (Oct. 22) at Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond.

Instead, the 5-4 Blue Devil are preparing for a first-round Class 1A playoff game at Camp Point Central, which was ranked fourth in last week’s state poll.

For Wilson, this will be a difficult week. His father, Mike, passed away on Saturday. Mike Wilson was a person that some at his son’s various coaching stops lovingly referred to “as the real Coach Wilson,” Heath Wilson said.

Heath Wilson is appreciative that his VG coaching staff features a solid group that includes former St. Thomas More head coach Dan Hennessey.

“It will be tough, but we will get through it,” Heath Wilson said.

Not only did Villa Grove grab the last playoff qualifying spot, but they also had to endure a day when several 4-4 teams that were playing had to lose.

One of those 4-4 teams (Von Steuben) wound up on the short end of a 26-24 score against Urban Prep in the final minute.

“Part of me felt that Dad was there to help us get over the hump,” Heath Wilson said. “Camp Point is a great team with great tradition.

“We knew we were getting a top dog, but in the playoffs, it’s a fresh new season and everyone is 0-0.”

Against A-L/A-H, Liam Barr connected on 10 of 22 passes for 139 yards. Two of the completions were for touchdowns.

Layne Rund and Luke Zimmerman – each of whom had three receptions – were on the receiving end of scoring strikes. Run gained 63 yards on his three catches.

Zimmerman rushed for a team-high 96 yards on 14 carries.

Villa Grove’s first TD came 31 seconds before halftime after Hunter Butts recovered a blocked punt.

Defensively, Zimmerman had a team-high 16 tackles, his fifth game in double figures this season. Barr had eight stops, Brady Clodfelder had seven and Alex Jensen ended with five tackles.

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Villa Grove had difficulty moving the ball (109 total yards) on Friday (Oct. 15) at Arcola and suffered a shutout loss for the first time this season, 28-0, to the Lincoln Prairie Conference champion Purple Riders.

A steady rain created wet field conditions and hampered Villa Grove.

“It took half of our game,” Blue Devils’ coach Heath Wilson said. “We try to be 50-50 with the run and pass.

“When we tried to pass the ball slipped out of our hands. In the running game, there weren’t many cutback options.”

Villa Grove quarterbacks Liam Barr and Layne Rund each completed three passes. Barr threw for 38 yards and Rund passed for 34 yards.

Barr, a senior, has thrown for 745 yards in seven games.

Season rushing leader Luke Zimmerman (658 yards in seven games) was limited to 42 yards on 11 carries. Zimmerman is a junior. Sophomore Brady Clodfelder had three receptions for 48 yards.

Two of Arcola’s TDs came on runs of 65 and 32 yards.

“Our defense kept us in the game,” Wilson said. “They scored on two long runs.”

Arcola scored 14 points in each half.

The team’s defensive leaders were senior Elijah Kiesel (11 tackles), Zimmerman (eight tackles), Barr (four tackles), Clodfelder (four tackles), Rund (four tackles), Stevens (four tackles) and Tyler Wilson (four tackles).

The Blue Devils were forced to deal with adversity twice in the game’s first few minutes.

A 70-yard run by Parker Stevens was negated by a holding call. VG senior lineman Daelin Price was injured on the second play of the game and was unable to return.

Price is also Villa Grove’s placekicker.

Villa Grove (5-3) returns to action on Friday (Oct. 22) at Arthur-Lovington/Atwood-Hammond (4-4), which needs a win to become playoff eligible.

“Hopefully we can get a win to get a better playoff seed,” said Wilson, whose team is playoff-eligible. “It’s their Senior Night and will be like a playoff atmosphere.”

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Sophomore Layne Rund caught two touchdown passes and ran for one score on Friday (Oct. 8) as Villa Grove’s football team dealt visiting Tri-County a 55-6 loss.

“He is confident in his routes and is coming on strong at the right time,” Villa Grove coach Heath Wilson said.

Parker Stevens rushed for two touchdowns and ran for a team-high 100 yards.

“He’s a hard runner,” Wilson said.

Daelin Price converted the placekick after seven of the Blue Devils’ scores.

Also reaching the scoring column were Liam Barr (who threw for the two TDs to Rund), Gunner Cline and Brady Clodfelder, on a fumble recovery.

Barr completed 6 of 11 passes for 141 yards.

“Our offensive line did well giving Liam time to pass,” Wilson said.

Rund was the go-to receiver, latching onto four receptions for 106 yards.

His career as a receiver will likely be short-lived. He is projected as the Blue Devils’ quarterback of the future.

Luke Zimmerman rushed for 48 yards. Cline added 35 yards on the ground.

Villa Grove has put 92 points on the board during its current two-game winning streak.

“We made some adjustments,” Wilson said. “They’re firing off the ball and executing better.

“The mentality changed and they believe (in themselves).”

Zimmerman led a defense that held the Titans to 164 total yards. He had a monster game, collecting 24 tackles (three shy of the single-game school record).

“They were keying on him and he was getting frustrated on offense,” Wilson said, “but he was all over the field on defense.”

Tyler Wilson had 10 tackles, Elijah Kiesel had nine tackles. Deandre Reinhart had seven stops. Finishing with six tackles apiece were Price and Stevens.

Villa Grove (5-2) becomes playoff-eligible and returns to action on Friday (Oct. 15) at Arcola (5-2). This week’s winner will be assured of an automatic playoff berth.

Arcola has clinched at least a share of the Illini Prairie Conference title, but Wilson has a message for his team.

“If we win out, we can share the conference title,” Wilson said. “We’re playoff-eligible, but that’s not the end goal. We want to get the sixth (win), to be sure.”

Teams with five wins are not guaranteed a spot in the postseason, though the majority usually make the cut.

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The Blue Devils’ football team moved one step closer to becoming playoff-eligible on Friday (Oct. 1) with a 37-14 win at Niantic over Sangamon Valley.

Villa Grove, which led 22-0 at halftime, is 4-2 overall ahead of the Friday (Oct. 8) Senior Night home-finale against Tri-County.

“We didn’t play our best, but we got the job done,” Villa Grove coach Heath Wilson said.

Any momentum that Sangamon Valley had gained by scoring early in the third period was alleviated seconds later when Gunner Cline returned the ensuing kickoff for a touchdown.

Luke Zimmerman posted his third consecutive 100-yard rushing performance, rambling for 165 yards on 13 carries. He scored two touchdowns.

“He’s a play-maker and wants the ball,” Wilson said. “He gets stronger as the game goes on. He and Parker Stevens are a couple of workhorses.”

Liam Barr hooked up with Layne Rund for a 57-yard scoring strike.

Zimmerman had a team-high 10 tackles. Other defensive leaders were Brady Clodfelder (eight tackles), Robert Fancher (five tackles), Elijah Kiesel (five tackles) and Daelin Price (five tackles).

Barr intercepted two passes and Tyler Wilson picked off one Sangamon Valley pass.

“Our defense played well,” Wilson said. “Elijah had three sacks. We told the defensive line they would win or lose the game.”

Joining Kiesel on the defensive front were Deandre Reinhart, Price and Parker Knierim.

“From last week to this week, they got back to hard-nosed football,” Wilson said. “We stressed defense, defense, defense.”

Villa Grove gained 242 total yards and held Sangamon Valley to 196 yards, the first opponent it kept under 200 yards this season.

Price converted three conversion kicks for the Blue Devils.

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State-ranked Toledo Cumberland took a 40-0 lead into halftime of a Friday (Sept. 24) homecoming game at Villa Grove and went on to a 47-8 triumph.

The Blue Devils got on the board with 7 minutes to play when Liam Barr hooked up with Brady Clodfelder on a 10-yard scoring strike.

Tyler Wilson ran in the two-point conversion.

Barr completed 5 of 16 passes for 27 yards.

Luke Zimmerman (64 yards) and Parker Stevens (39 yards) were the top Villa Grove ground-gainers.

Cumberland, ranked 14th in Class 2A, held a 332-165 edge in total yards.

Defensively, the Blue Devils’ leaders were Clodfelder (seven tackles), Zimmerman (six tackles) and Stevens (five tackles). Robert Fancher and Elijah Kiesel each ended with three tackles.

“We got beat on both sides of the ball,” Villa Grove coach Heath Wilson said. “They pretty much took away everything.

“I’m proud of our kids. They played until the very last minute.”

Wilson said there are some lessons that can be taken from the game.

“It’s kind of a learning process,” Wilson said. “We’ll see if our boys have some grit.

“We have to learn that not everything is easy. This determines where we have to go from here.”

Villa Grove (3-2) returns to action on Friday (Oct. 1) against Sangamon Valley (1-4) in Niantic.

“We have to take care of business this week,” Wilson said.

Tackle Connor Black, who has missed the last two games, is expected back, and Wilson said, “we will ease him back into things.”

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Villa Grove’s football team bounced back from a loss the previous week to record a season’s high for points scored on Friday (Sept. 10) in a 42-35 win at home over Cerro Gordo/Bement in the Lincoln Prairie Conference opener.

The Blue Devils amassed a season-high 460 yards of total offense, including 185 rushing yards by Luke Zimmerman and 186 passing yards by Liam Barr.

“Our offensive line did a great job giving Liam time to throw,” Villa Grove coach Heath Wilson said.

Barr tossed two touchdown strikes to Elijah Kiesel (who had 106 receiving yards) and one to Brady Clodfelder.

“Kiesel was a playmaker,” Wilson said. “We put him at the slot and it worked to our benefit, and then Luke took over in the fourth quarter.”

Zimmerman had two rushing touchdowns and Barr ran for one score. Daelin Price converted 4 of 5 extra-point placements.

Zimmerman’s final score, on a 75-yard romp with 2 minutes and 20 seconds remaining, created the game’s final score and gave VG extra breathing room.

The coach had to make an adjustment in the offensive line unit after an injury a week earlier sidelined tackle Connor Black.

Sophomore Alex Jensen – who didn’t play as a freshman – stepped in at right tackle.

He joins a veteran group that features two seniors (left guard Price and left tackle Deandre Reinhart) along with junior center Carson Block and sophomore right guard Zach Wells.

VG built leads of 14-0 and 28-13, which was narrowed to 28-27.

The visiting Broncos also pulled within 36-35 in the final 6 minutes.

“The poise of my team was very good,” Wilson said. “Our kids had a fight in them.

“Our defense gave up some big plays, but when they had a chance to drive, the defense stepped up and got the job done.

“It was a nerve-wracking game. The crowd loved it, but as a coach, it gives you a heart attack.”

Zimmerman recorded a season-high 15 tackles. Other defensive leaders were Price (six tackles), Reinhart (six tackles), Clodfelder (six tackles) and Tyler Wilson (five tackles).

The Blue Devils were scheduled to return to action on Friday (Sept. 17) for their third consecutive home game, a contest against Argenta-Oreana (0-3). However, the Bombers have forfeited due to COVID-19 cases within the program.

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The Blue Devils were held to 217 total yards in their football home opener on Friday (Sept. 3) and dropped a 40-14 decision to Ridgeview/Lexington.

Liam Barr scored both of the Villa Grove touchdowns and also passed for 196 yards, completing 16 of 32 attempts.

Brady Clodfelder had 70 receiving yards, Layne Rund had 49 receiving yards and Robert Fancher had four receptions.

Barr was the team’s rushing leader with eight yards.

“Their offense was not the same that we saw on film,” VG coach Heath Wilson said. “They ran the spread Week 1, but ran a double tight I-formation and overpowered us.

“Their offensive line won the game. They got a good push.”

The Blue Devils’ aerial attack came out of necessity.

“They shut down the run so quickly, and we passed more than we intended,” Wilson said. “I was not unhappy with our effort.”

Daelin Price had six tackles and also returned a fumble recovery to the 1-yard line, setting up Barr’s first quarterback sneak.

Tyler Wilson had a team-high nine tackles in the second game. Clodfelder (seven), Price (six), Luke Zimmerman (six), Gunner Cline (five) and Deandre Reinhart (five) were other team leaders.

“We can’t do anything about last week,” Wilson added. “All we can do is prepare for Cerro Gordo/Bement (1-1) and get better. We hope to get back on track.”

The upcoming home game will be played on Friday (Sept. 10) and will serve as the opener for the Lincoln Prairie Conference teams.

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Either the current Villa Grove football team or a former Villa Grove athlete was going to wind up a winner in the season-opener on Friday (Aug. 27).

The first-game football win went to the current Villa Grove team, which rallied in the second half to register a 26-14 victory at Fisher over a team coached by VG graduate Jake Palmer.

Fisher led 14-13 at halftime, but Luke Zimmerman and Liam Barr scored second-half TDs for the visiting Blue Devils.

The first half ended with a wild final 2 minutes. VG scored with 1 minute, 22 seconds left in the second quarter to garner a 13-8 lead, but Fisher responded and collected its one-point lead with a quick scoring drive.

The Bunnies received the second-half kickoff, but were unable to build on their momentum.

“They fumbled, and we recovered,” VG coach Heath Wilson said. “We stress that games are won or lost by who wins the turnover battle.”

Zimmerman made the hit and the recovery. He is one of nine two-way players for VG, many of whom also play on special teams.

Once the Blue Devils regained the lead (19-14) after a 22-yard scoring march in the first minute of the third period, Wilson’s game plan was simple.

“From there, we wanted to control the clock,” he said.

Zimmerman was the offensive workhorse, carrying the ball 29 times for 148 yards. Barr rushed for 38 yards in 13 attempts.

Barr completed 7 of 15 passes for 101 yards. His favorite target was Brady Clodfelder (four receptions for 68 yards and one TD). Zimmerman hauled in two passes for 29 yards.

The offense did its job, not losing possession of the ball at all, and the VG defense was up for the challenge in the second half, keeping the Bunnies off the scoreboard during the final two quarters.

“The defense kept us in the game,” Wilson said. “Our defense played well.”

Notable catalysts were middle linebacker Zimmerman, defensive end Daelin Price and defensive tackle Elijah Kiesel. Price was in on 17 tackles, Zimmerman had 14 and Kiesel ended with nine stops.

Tyler Wilson totaled seven tackles.

“We thought if we were in better shape, we’d win the game,” Wilson said. “Our guys are in great shape. If you don’t cramp (from the heat), you can stay in the game.”

Villa Grove held a 302-223 edge in total yards.

Fisher was a new opponent for the Blue Devils (1-0) as is their upcoming foe on Friday (Sept. 3), Ridgeview/Lexington (0-1), which lost a 20-12 decision in Week 1 to Deer Creek-Mackinaw. This week’s game will be the first of four in a row at home for VG.

“We don’t know a lot about them, but we do know it will be a dogfight,” Wilson said.

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