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.

The post Villa Grove hands Tri-County loss first appeared on SJO Daily.

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.”

The post Toledo Cumberland defeats Villa Grove football first appeared on SJO Daily.

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.

The post Villa Grove football bounces back to defeat Cerro Gordo/Bement first appeared on SJO Daily.

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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