WACO football blanked by Highland

RIVERSIDE ? The Highland football team shut out WACO in the final game of the regular season, 48-0, to secure the No. 3 seed in the playoffs. The loss dropped the Warriors to the No. 4 seed and pitted them for the second year in a row against Lynnville-Sully in the first round of the Class A playoffs on Wednesday.

?It was not at all (the way we wanted to end our regular season),? WACO Coach Chad Edeker said. ?We played a good quarter and a half, but we just weren?t focused.?

WACO was down only 14-0 at the end of the first half.

?We didn?t finish the half, and in the second half, it just snowballed,? Edeker said. ?Its been our problem all year ? we don?t stay focused against good teams.?

In just two days, the Warriors will see another good team ? Class A District 6 No. 1 seed Lynnville-Sully ? and will have to focus for a chance to knock out the team that got the best of them in their only playoff game last season.

Lynnville-Sully defeated Montezuma in the final game of the regular season this year to help break a four-way tie for first place in the district.

Meanwhile, in another District 6 game, BGM (Brooklyn) defeated Class A No. 9 Pekin and remained tied with Lynnville-Sully at 6-1 in district play. However, Lynville-Sully won its game against BGM earlier in the season, giving the Hawks the district?s No. 1 seed.

Lynnville-Sully was the No. 2 seed last season and took on No. 3 WACO in the first round, eliminating the Warriors from postseason play.

?Last year, they were big and they were young,? Edeker said. ?They?ve lost six or seven seniors, and they still have a couple big players, but they?re not near the size they were last year.?

But it?s not all good news for the Warriors.

?I think they?re a better team (than last year),? Edeker said. ?They?re more athletic.?

Edeker notes that WACO will, in particular, have to find a way to contain tailback Bailee Samson, who had 1,028 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns this season.

?He?s quick and he?s physical,? Edeker said.

But overall, in the short time that it has to prepare for the playoff game, the WACO football team needs to focus on itself.

?When we stay focused, we can play with (better teams),? Edeker said. ?We need to stay intense. Any time you have a No. 4 team playing a No. 1 team, it?s going to take a great game (for the No. 4 seed to win).

?But we?ve got a shot,? he continued. ?We need to keep preaching to the guys that we have to keep it close ? if you get to the fourth quarter and it?s a one-score game, anything can happen.?

Kickoff for WACO?s first round playoff game is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Lynnville-Sully.