Winnebago’s playoff hopes dashed in Dixon

MEGAN GEARHART PHOTO The Gazette
Linemen block to give Zach time to look for a Winnebago pass.

By Doug Schroder
CORRESPONDENT
The Winnebago Indians football team saw any post-season playoff hopes dashed at the hands of the Dixon Dukes, in Dixon, on Friday, Oct. 18. Things just did not go the Indians’ way as they were trounced 47-0.
“It was a sad, sad game,” said one Winnebago fan.
The injury bug bit the Indians hard in Week 8, harder than in Week 7 when five players were out with injuries for the Genoa-Kingston game. Three of those players returned to action in Week 8, but then an additional six were added to the list, bringing the total to eight players who were unable to dress for the game against Dixon. That left only 14 players from the season opening roster of 22 who were able to take the field last Friday.
The Indians’ offense has been explosive at times this season. They put up 35 points in the second quarter against Rock Falls on Sept. 28. On this night the team could only muster goose eggs on the scoreboard, with the offense only gaining 100 total yards, with 62 of those yards from passing and 38 yards from rushing.
The Indians could not get any sort of drive sustained either as they went 0-11 on third down conversions, and 1-6 on fourth down conversions. Quarterback Zach Johnson threw two interceptions, although one of those was on a tipped pass.
One stat where Winnebago did hold the advantage in was time of possession. The Indians had the ball for 25:31 to Dixon’s 22:29.
The Indians’ defense gave up 347 yards of total offense to Dixon, which wasn’t too bad for a game total. The problem was those yards came in big chunks as the Dukes averaged 15.8 yards per pass and five yards per rush.
Four Indians players were credited with three sacks for the game. Joe Rice and Cole Shrank had one sack apiece, with Sam Rummel and David Booth taking half credit for the other sack.
In the first period of play Dixon scored twice, once on a touchdown and once on a safety, to take an 8-0 lead.
The safety happened when Zach Johnson passed to Ethan Ackerman, who behind the line of scrimmage. Ackerman was then tackled for an 11-yard loss in the end zone, resulting in the Dixon two point score.
The Dukes tallied three touchdowns in the second period to take a 28-0 lead at the half.
Dixon scored two more touchdowns in the third period and one more in the fourth to round out the scoring on the night.
The loss drops the Indians to 3-5 on the season.
Winnebago closes out the football season with a game at home against the North Boone Vikings this Friday. North Boone is coming off a 35-19 victory over the Oregon Hawks and is still in the hunt for a playoff spot with a 4-4 record. The Indians hope to play spoiler by knocking off North Boone and ending the Indians season on a high note.