New London drops tight game at Pekin

By Andy Krutsinger, Mt. Pleasant News

PACKWOOD ? The New London football team will have to sweat out the wildcard selections when the IAHSAA releases brackets for the 2017 postseason.

The Tigers couldn?t quite nab an automatic bid on Friday night when Pekin held off New London 14-8 in a defensive struggle on Friday night in Packwood.

New London?s defense showed they were ready to play early, forcing two turnovers in the first quarter, but the offense couldn?t get anything going in the first period.

The Pekin defense set its offense up for the first score of the ballgame. The Panthers forced a New London turnover inside the 10-yard line and senior running back Monico Requina punched in a short touchdown run, which helped give Pekin a 7-0 lead with 2:37 left in the first quarter.

The defensive struggle continued for the rest of the first half. New London?s one big offensive play of the first half was a long run down the sideline by quarterback Isaac McSorley, but it was called back due to a penalty.

Pekin was able to win the battle of field position, but New London?s defense kept the Tigers in it. The Tigers trailed by a touchdown at the break, 7-0.

The Panthers got the ball first to start the second half, and they capitalized with a long drive that ended in another touchdown by Requina. After leading the team downfield with run play after run play, Requina fought for another short touchdown rush and Pekin opened up a 14-0 lead with 8:39 remaining.

On the first play of the ensuing Tiger drive, McSorley broke free. The junior quarterback dashed down the New London sideline for the longest run of the day, flipping the field and putting the Tigers in business at the 20-yard line.

Pekin?s defense stopped the next three plays but New London chose to gamble and go for it on fourth and five. McSorley found Mason Porter for a 15-yard touchdown pass and the Tigers were right back in it.

New London chose to go for two and McSorley made things happen with his feet once more. After scrambling to the right side, he cut back the other way and beat a Panther defender to the left-side pylon, giving the Tigers two more points and cutting the Pekin lead to 14-8 with 6:01 remaining in the third period.

The Tigers, however, could never score again. As time ticked away, the Pekin defense made stop after stop and forced the Tigers to punt and rely on the field position game.

New London pinned Pekin deep inside of their own territory on a punt with six minutes left in the fourth quarter, but Requina battled for first down after first down and the Tigers were unable to get the ball back. The Panthers escaped and the Tigers lost their second-straight nail-biter.

After the game, New London coach Mark McSorley praised the play of his quarterback, and the defense for playing well all night, but said his team couldn?t get the big play when they needed it.

?Holding Pekin to 14 points is a positive,? Coach McSorley said. ?They?ve been scoring a lot of points on a lot of teams they?ve played this year. It felt like we were playing on our side of the field the whole game, and that just goes to show how tough our defense was tonight.?

The Tiger offense was lead by junior QB McSorley, who finished 4-7 for 30 yards and a touchdown through the air and rushed for 90 yards on eight attempts. Porter caught three passes for 28 yards and a score, and Dallas Bell caught one ball for two yards.

The running game was held in check all night. Keontae Luckett had 20 yards on 11 attempts, and Bell and Jordan Johnson were each held to three yards.

Defensively, the team was led by McSorley and Porter. McSorley had eight tackles and a fumble recovery, and Porter finished with 7.5 tackles and a fumble recovery, which he returned for 12 yards.

Matt Oliver had 6.5 tackles, including a sack that ended the first quarter. Justin Carter finished with 5.5 tackles, and Bell, Luckett, Britt Noel and Shae Summerfield each finished with five.

With the loss, New London fell to 5-2 overall and 3-2 in district play, all but assuring them third place. The Tigers need a win against Winfield-Mt. Union on Friday night, and they will be one of the teams considered for one of the two wildcard spots selected by the IHSAA. Coach McSorley stated the case for his team to be one of the teams selected, sighting the team?s two close losses.

?Honestly, I think we can match up just as well as anybody in class A,? he said. ?Pekin and Lynnville-Sully are great teams. They?ve been in the rankings all year, and we?re hanging with them.?