‘Incredible’: Camp Point Central football team captures first state championship in school history

NORMAL, Ill. — The Camp Point Central football players viewed Friday’s appearance in the Class 1A state championship game as a business trip.

It was more of a historic journey.

“Incredible,” senior quarterback Nick Moore called it.

Unforgettable, too.

Behind arguably one of the most impressive defensive performances in program history and the continued postseason pounding from fullback Elijah Genenbacher, Central spoiled Lena-Winslow’s shot at winning four consecutive crowns with a 14-0 victory at Illinois State University’s Hancock Stadium.

The victory wiped away the memory of last season’s runner-up finish to Lena-Winslow and marked the first state championship in any sport in Central history and the first undefeated season in program history with a 14-0 record.

“I don’t know how to explain it,” sophomore defensive lineman Kadin Niekamp said. “It’s unreal.”

It proved to be more exhilarating than any of the players ever imagined.

“By a mile,” senior wide receiver Jack Thompson said. “Probably the best feeling I have ever had in my life.”

It was quite possibly the best defensive effort Central has ever had.

Lena-Winslow entered the title game having won 32 consecutive games overall, 19 consecutive playoff games and six championships in the past seasons. The No. 1-ranked team in the state also averaged 387.5 yards rushing and 44.9 points per game.

None of that mattered against Central’s uber-quick defense. Lena-Winslow managed just 164 yards rushing and 3.3 yards per carry with senior all-state fullback Gage Dunker being held to 112 yards on 28 carries.

Dunker came in averaging 191.7 yards per game and 8.7 yards per carry.

“They have really good talent in their backfield,” Central all-state senior defensive back Drew Paben said. “We had to make sure we gang tackled them and make sure they couldn’t cut it back to the other side of the field.”

After forcing Central to go three and out on the game’s opening possession, Lena-Winslow marched 60 yards to the Central 6-yard line, but it failed to convert on fourth and 4 in what proved to be a sign of things to come.

Lena-Winslow went 2 of 12 on third-down conversions and 1 of 5 on fourth-down tries.

It resulted in Lena-Winslow getting shut out in the first half for the first time since a playoff game against Orion in 2015 and overall for the first time since a Week 3 loss to Forreston in 2007. It’s also the first time in quite some time Lena-Winslow lost the battle in the trenches.

“It’s kind of hard to accept, because that’s just how we’ve been beating up on people. Not just this season, but in general,” Lena-Winslow coach Ric Arand said. “But they kind of came out and gave us a taste of our own medicine up front there.” 

That carried over to the offensive side of the ball.

Central took the lead in the second quarter when it finished a six-play, 71-yard drive with Genenbacher’s 23-yard touchdown run. Two plays prior to that, Moore connected with Thompson on a 34-yard pass play to get into Lena-Winslow territory for the first time.

“The playbook was open,” Thompson said. “It was wide after we established the passing game. Then you had the running game, and they had to worry about both. So the playbook was wide open.”

Lena-Winslow managed just 17 total yards on its final two possessions of the first half and opened the second half with consecutive three-and-outs.

“We watched a ton of film,” said Genenbacher, who had a team-high 12 tackles from his middle linebacker spot. “We were super prepared. The coaches made the right calls and put us in the right positions. We just went out there and played.”

Genenbacher’s 11-yard touchdown run with 2:53 remaining in regulation made it feel like an insurmountable lead, but the Panthers knew not to look at it that way.

“Coach was saying the game’s not over. Everybody was saying the game’s not over,” said Niekamp, who had 11 tackles. “We kept telling each other that until we kneeled on it in the last couple seconds. That’s when we all knew. That’s when we could celebrate.”

That’s when this historic journey was complete.

All because the final business trip was a success.

“We came in to take care of business,” Thompson said. “We had a gameplan and we were going to execute that gameplan no matter who we were facing. And we knew who we were facing. We stuck to who we were and we knew what we could do.”