Bulldogged effort in Class 1A state title tilt by Central, but momentum, mojo never shift in its direction

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. — Every comeback starts at a tipping point, the moment where momentum and mojo shift dramatically.

Everything lined up for a Lena-Winslow punt to be just that.

Having forced the defending Class 1A state champion to punt from its own 23-yard line with 7 minutes, 53 seconds remaining in the third quarter Friday morning, the Camp Point Central football team figured to at worst gain possession near midfield.

At best, Central could make a play and put itself in prime scoring territory while trailing 16-0 in the state championship game at the University of Illinois’ Memorial Stadium.

“We made a great defensive stand to create some momentum for our guys,” Central coach Brad Dixon said of forcing Lena-Winslow to go three-and-out on its first possession of the second half. “We gave ourselves a chance to make something happen.”

Instead, Gunar Lobdell made a play that likely saved a state championship.

An errant snap went soaring over Lena-Winslow’s punter, but Lobdell snared it with one hand, avoided two potential tacklers, and instead running for safety, was alert enough to get off a rugby-style punt that went 42 yards and knocked Central back to its 35-yard line.

“I just did what I had to do,” Lobdell said. “In these kinds of games, those are big plays.”

This one was back-breaking for Central, which had its ensuing drive stall after one first down and punted the ball away. Lena-Winslow followed with an 18-play drive lasting 10:41 and ending with a Gage Dunker touchdown for a three-score lead.

That was enough to finish off a 30-8 victory and Lena-Winslow’s third consecutive championship and sixth crown since 2010.

“These guys did just a great job of just hammering away at them,” Lena-Winslow coach Ric Arand said. “That drive in the third quarter, and into the fourth quarter, just had to be a killer for them.”

It saddled Central (13-1) with its second title game loss. It also finished as the state runner-up in 2018, losing to Forreston, one of Lena-Winslow’s rivals in the Northern Upstate Illinois Conference.

“We didn’t come here for second place,” Dixon said. “We want to hoist one of those big trophies one of these days.”

Unlike the 2018 game, which Forreston led 30-0 at halftime and racked up 404 yards rushing, this one was competitive throughout as two tough-as-nails defenses dug their heels in. Lena-Winslow held Central to 116 yards rushing, while Central’s defense allowed just 4.3 yards per play.

Lena-Winslow averaged 9.8 yards per play through its first 13 games.

“We knew we wanted to make them earn it,” Dixon said. “We hoped we could put some drives together. We did, but we just didn’t punch them in. They earned everything they had today. We knew if we gave them big plays, it wasn’t going to be good for us.”

Central wasn’t shy about trying to create a big play of its own.

On its first possession, Central was forced into a fourth-and-13 situation, but Dixon called for a fake punt with punter Nick Moore, who is also the starting quarterback, attempting to connect with tight end Josh Alford on a pass in the middle of the field. The play worked, but the pass floated out of Alford’s reach.

Lena-Winslow took possession at the Central 49-yard line and scored six plays later on Dunker’s first touchdown run — a 1-yard dive for an 8-0 advantage.

“We knew we had to do some things in this game and be aggressive,” Dixon said. “We weren’t going to come here and back down.” 

Dunker’s 2-yard touchdown run in the second quarter led to a 16-0 halftime lead, but Central kept fighting until it could fight no more. That was after Isaac Genenbacher caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Moore with 25 seconds to play and Lena-Winslow ran out the clock after that.

Ross Riley led Central with 54 yards rushing on 10 carries, while Genenbacher was limited to 36 yards on 11 carries. Dunker led Lena-Winslow with 120 yards rushing.

“It wasn’t given to us, that’s for sure,” Arand said. “The (titles) in the past felt great, but you kind of forget what it feels like over the course of the season. Being back in Champaign, playing on a beautiful field, it doesn’t get any better than this.”