Biggest game of the year for the Hononegah Indians
Indians must win Friday night if they want the NIC-10 title. Lose and the race is over.
This week’s football matchup will go a long way to determine the NIC-10 title. Hononegah comes in 6-1 against 7-0 Belvidere North for Friday's game on October 18, 2024.
Since the news came down earlier this season of the Indians needing to forfeit a game due to an IHSA violation, this Blue Thunder matchup was the one Hononegah wanted to get to without another loss. Head Coach Brian Zimmerman said “We knew after we got the news what we needed to do, the senior leadership of this team has helped us get to this point.” They have everything right in front of them. Win and you most likely at worst get a piece of the conference title; lose and the NIC-10 title is gone.
As this season has progressed, Hononegah has relied on a strong running game, great defense and special special teams unit. Last week, Kelsey Field played host to the closest game of the season for the Indians: A 17-7 win over Boylan Catholic. The passing game played a big part in that win (Dominic Kelly finished with his best game at QB throwing for 107 yards on 10 of 12. For good measure, Kelly added 50 yards on the ground). This type of performance might be needed again if they want to go on the road to a energized and loud Belvidere North Blue Thunder who have home field advantage.
For the Blue Thunder of Belvidere North, this is new territory. North normally finishes in the top half of the NIC 10. Having a chance to knock off Hononegah and capture a NIC-10 title is something very different for North, who have lost 28 of the last 33 games against the Indians. A 7-0 record for the Blue Thunder has only happened one other time in the school history, from the records that can be located online.
Blue Thunder coach Jeff Beck teaches a hard-nosed attack on offense featuring a great running game, with a stout defense and winning the turnover battle to win the game.
This season has been a change, with a special running game led by a couple of speedsters in Ben Bucher and Erick Roman. The dynamic duo have combined for nearly 1,000 yards on the ground while averaging over 15 yards every time they run the ball. They both like to head outside against the defense and let fullback Trent Dinsmore get the tough inside yards. Dinsmore had over 1,000 yards last season for the Blue Thunder.
On defense the Blue Thunder are a collection of tough smart players that only allow 12 points a game. 2014 was the last time Belvidere North won a share of the conference title. That season they tied with the 8-1 Indians for the NIC-10 title.
Players to keep an eye on for Belvidere North:
- #4 Ben Bucher JR RB/DB
- #10 Trent Dinsmore SR RB/DL
- #20 Erik Roman JR RB/LB
Kickoff from Milt Brown Stadium in Belvidere is set for 7 p.m. Can’t make the game? Download the Big Radio app and listen to Andy Gannon and former Hononegah coach Tom Polaski for all the action. Watch it on the NFHS by searching for Hononegah or Belvidere North (a subscription is required to view the game).
A self-described sports evangelist, Harold Bone is the Rockton-Roscoe News sports editor who is committed to finding stories behind-the-box scores and discovering engaging sports content. Got a story idea? Contact Harold via email at harold@roscoenews.com and follow him on Twitter at @SPRTSEDRRNews.
