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BRADLEY – Facing an undefeated, top-seeded Whitney Young team wasn’t the most opportune time for the Bradley-Bourbonnais offense to have perhaps its worst first quarter of the season.
But fortunately for the No. 17 Boilermakers, there were four quarters of Friday’s IHSA Class 7A second round playoff matchup.
After their slow start, the Boilers broke the ice with an Isaiah Brown touchdown, followed it up the next drive with a Lyzale Edmon pick-six and never looked back, handing the Dolphins their first loss of the season in dominant 42-0 fashion.
The Boilers are now 9-2 and in the quarterfinals for the first time since 2015 while the Dolphins saw their season end with a 10-1 record.
“The most important thing our coaches preach is that ups and downs, we’re gonna have them,” senior quarterback Gavin Kohl said. “Even in the ups, we stay level, and in the downs we stay level. We were down there in the first quarter and didn’t play our best ball, but we just stayed level.”
They were able to move the ball early on, getting into Whitney Young territory on each of their first two possessions, but fumbles that were both recovered Andrew Latham took away any potential first-quarter points for the Boilers.
But the Boiler defense was able to keep the scoreboard empty through the early woes, forcing a pair of punts sandwiched around a failed 4th-and-1 conversion, and with 4:19 on the second-quarter clock, the Boilers finally took a lead that would only grow and grow.
On a 3rd-and-15 from the Dolphin 29-yard line, Kohl placed a beauty in the back right corner of the endzone, catching Brown perfectly in stride for a 29-yard touchdown.
Brown, a transfer from Streator, saw just 15 touches (11 rushes, four receptions) through the first 10 games of the season, but the selfless, speedy senior made the most of his fifth catch on the year.
“I knew we needed a big play and [offensive coordinator Matt Fox] had a great play called,” Kohl said. “Isaiah did a great job getting open. He’s a really fast kid, really athletic kid that hasn’t gotten the ball a lot this year.
“It’s a great testament to his character, not being patient and waiting for his moment.”
It didn’t take long for that lead to double. On the fourth play of the ensuing drive, Edmon snagged a one-handed snag from just inside of midfield and took it back to the house to make it a 14-0 affair with 2:42 remaining. After a quick three-and-out, Isaac Allison stammered in for a 3-yard score with just under a minute in the half that gave the hosts a 21-0 lead at the break.
Edmon, who caught two touchdowns and returned a kick for a third in last week’s 34-27 win at Jacobs, said it was those stops in the first quarter that helped set the tone for the Boilers to take control by halftime.
“I feel like the defense, after getting those first-quarter stops, was big,” Edmon said. “And the offense had a ton of energy, went down and scored.”
A perfectly-executed fake field goal from kicker and backup quarterback Ellis Johnson on the first drive out of the break went to Calvin Kohl, who was stopped a yard shy of paydirt. Kyren Edmon followed it up a play later to put the Boilers up four scores four minutes into the half, 28-0.
Senior Kenvontae Sutton, whose 72 rushing yards paced the backfield, caught a 3-yard four minutes into the fourth quarter before Johnson’s quarterback keeper from a yard out brought the game’s final score and began the running clock with 4:24 left.
Sutton, much like Brown, is a talented senior leader that’s ceded touches to talented underclassmen, as he entered the game third in both carries (41) and rushing yards (246). But also like Brown, Friday allowed Sutton the chance for his selflessness to be rewarded.
“He’s the most popular kid on our team because he cares about everybody around him,” Boilers head coach Mike Kohl said. “For him to be able to get in the endzone was huge.”
As the offense ended up finding a groove against a Dolphins defense that entered play averaging just 6.4 points allowed per game, the Boiler defense stayed sharp all night.
They allowed talented senior Luke Yolich to tally 105 rushing yards, but didn’t let the Dolphins enter the red zone all night. Junior linebacker Ian Irps helped lead that charge behind a defensive line that ate blocks up and plugged gaps all night long. Irps, Calvin Kohl and Khalan Clemons spent all night disrupting the timing off the Whitney Young pass game, holding quarterback to 86 yards and an interception on 13-for-23 passing.
“Our defense has such great nights all the time because of how we work Monday-Wednesday,” Irps said. “Coach [Joe] Kubal, coach [Freddie] Dudek all week are on us and we’re never comfortable during the week. It makes it easy on Friday night.”
Sutton’s 72 rushing yards came on seven carries, followed closely by Kyren Edmon (nine carries, 70 yards, touchdown) and Gavin Kohl (eight carries, 56 yards). Gavin Kohl also threw for 68 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 6-for-13 passing. Brown’s 29-yard touchdown was his lone reception, enough to lead the team in receiving. Calin Kohl’s three receptions were a team-high, netting 24 yards.
The Boilers will return home to host a familiar face at 6 p.m. Friday, Lincoln-Way Central. The Knights, the Boilers’ green division rivals in the SouthWest Valley Conference, won the division and handed the Boilers one of their two losses, a 28-6 Week 5 tilt in New Lenox.
“It’s gonna be a blast,” coach Kohl said. “They’ve got a great coaching staff up there at Lincoln-Way Central and they do things right.
" ... Last time we played them we didn’t play well, and they kind of owned us,” he added. “We’ve got a big week of practice this week, and we have to prepare and watch film, but it’s great to have an SWVC matchup this late in the year.”