CASEY, ILL. — Casey and Marshall meet Saturday in an Illinois Class 2A football playoff game at Sinclair-Vidoni Field with the winner advancing to the Final Four.
Kickoff is 1:30 p.m. CST with the gates opening at 11:30 a.m. for the Little Illini Conference rematch. The game will be carried by WMMC-FM 105.9.
The Clark County rivals met in the season opener and Casey won 28-7. The Warriors went on to record their fifth undefeated season in six years and Marshall did not lose another game.
Casey thus takes an 11-0 record into the contest and No. 1 seed in the upper bracket while Marshall is 10-1 and is the No.l 4 seed.
“It’s not often you get a chance to play your bitter rival twice in one season … and have the chance to avenge our only loss against the No. 1 team in the state. Our kids are excited about it and have been hoping for this opportunity for a long time,” second-year Marshall coach Todd Evers said early in the week.
Casey and Marshall met in the Sweet 16 round of the playoffs in 1992. Mick Roberts was the coach at Casey then and the Warriors won.
Current coach Keith Sinclair says he was at the game. He was coach of the 1982 state championship team and has taken two other teams to the finals with the Warriors losing to Immaculate Conception last year.
“Anytime you play Marshall you throw out the past records. Marshall has run the table since the first game and has had some [impressive wins], beating a Class 4A team Mahomet-Seymour and shutting out a good passing Williamsville team last week,” the coach said this week.
The teams run different offenses but are similar in that both have excellent quarterbacks with good receivers and a strong running back.
Both teams have been impressive in the playoffs, Casey beating Alton Marquette 42-7 and Red Bud 43-7 while Marshall has beaten Westville 27-6 and Williamsville 16-0.
Senior Taylor Duncan is the Marshall quarterback. He has passed for 1,230 yards and 15 touchdowns and rushed for 872 yards and 15 touchdowns.
He also plays safety and has 31 tackles and three picks. He also is the punter and averages 33.64 yards per boot.
Senior Brett Livvix has passed for 1,377 yards for Casey and 22 touchdowns with just two interceptions, one of them coming last week against Red Bud.
Sophomore Andre Strohm has netted 1,073 yards rushing for the Lions and scored 11 touchdowns, 10 rushing.
Senior Billy Seeley has rushed for 1,011 yards and 18 scores. Casey has rushed for 2,244 yards and Marshall has gone for 2,379.
The signal-callers talked about the game.
“It is more of a mental game. We need to go into the game [with confidence] and execute. Casey is a big physical team and does a lot of things well . . . and will line up and try to run it down our throats. I think we have improved a lot since the first game. We need to play very smart football and execute,” said Duncan.
“Taylor Duncan is a great quarterback. We will have to slow him down. Strohm is extremely quick. We will have to contain him. We have gotten a lot better on defense . . . we get a lot of people to the ball. I can’t say enough about our offensive line, allowing just two sacks all year. That is incredible,” said Livvix.
Junior Clinton Scott is the kicker for the Warriors and plays on the defensive line with 53 tackles and seven sacks.
“Marshall has improved a lot since the first game and so have we. If we can carry out our responsibilities and do our job on defense, it should play out well,” he said.
Commenting on the two lop-sided playoff victories, he said, “We have had our heads straight and really been focused on one game at a time. We have not looked ahead.”
He echoed Livvix’ comments about containing Duncan, his receivers and Strohm.
Dalton Sanders is a senior who has tied the Marshall school record for sacks with 16 this season. Like Duncan and the other seniors, he has not been in a winning game against Casey.
“Containing Livvix will be a key. He can scramble. We just need to stick to our techniques and get them down pat,” he said.
Evers said some peronnel changes have been made since the first game and they have worked out well.
“Casey is always so well-prepared. We need to get creative and physical,” he said.
Strohm is a sophomore and made his first varsity start against Casey. “He is seeing the field so well right now, especially as a sophomore,” said Evers.
Strohm had 165 yards against Lawrenceville and he also plays outside linebacker. “Our defense will have to play very well,” he says of the rematch.
“I do not foresee the same type game we had in the first game. I know both teams are better,” said Sinclair.
The Casey-Marshall winner will face either Central A&M; or Maroa-Forsyth in the semifinals.
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