NORMAL, Ill.—Wilmington’s Kyle Farrell found himself in a dream situation. The junior running back had one Athens defender to beat. He beat him.
All that was left was to run about 50 additional yards, score a touchdown and seal a state championship for his school and his city.
On that long run, Farrell wasn’t planning his end zone celebration or imagining how his 78-yard, fourth-quarter TD would live forever in Wilmington history. One phrase ran through his mind: “Don’t get caught.”
“[My teammates] stayed on their blocks well and gave me enough time,” Farrell said. “I was able to just keep running and all the time thinking don’t get caught. Don’t get caught. Don’t get caught.”
Farrell didn’t get caught. His score put the Wildcats ahead by 18 points early in the fourth quarter and Wilmington went on to beat Athens 28-3 to win the Class 2A state championship at ISU’s Hancock Stadium.
“Seeing everyone come pile into the end zone with me was just a great feeling,” Farrell said.
It’s the third state title for Wilmington, which won the Class 2A state title in 2021 and the 3A championship in 2014.
Wildcats coach Jeff Reents saw something special in this group of kids from the start.
“These are guys you want to be in practice with and guys you love seeing in the hallway at school,” Rents said. They make your school better. They make your community better. I’m just so very proud of them.”
Farrell had 24 carries for 192 yards. He scored 30 TDs this season and averaged nearly nine yards per carry.
Sophomore Ryan Kettman opened the scoring with a four-yard run late in the first quarter. Wilmington (13-1) never trailed.
Athens (11-3) scored on a 27-yard field goal by Gage Honn midway through the second quarter.
“We are ecstatic to be state champions,” Reents said. “To see us go from Week 1 and go through the playoffs, we had some doozies.”
Wilmington lost to Seneca in the season opener and avenged that lone loss with a 20-14 overtime win in the state quarterfinals.
Wildcats quarterback Cade McCubbin attempted just one pass, an incompletion. Braeden Anderson had nine carries for 35 yards and Kettman had nine carries for 20 yards and the TD.
Brendan Moran and Joey Allgood each had five tackles and one tackle for a loss.
“We’re not fancy,” Reents said. “We just do what we do. And part of that is time of possession and grinding out the ball.”
Wilmington is on the board. Ryan Kettman with a 4-yard TD run.
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelsobrien) November 24, 2023
Wildcats lead Athens 7-0, 1Q of the Class 2A state title game. pic.twitter.com/uB25WxGgDO
It was Athens’ first state title game appearance. The school has only had a football team for 18 seasons.
“This was a great experience for our program,” Warriors coach Ryan Knox said. “There is nothing to be ashamed of. They came out, left it all on the field and just got beat by a better team today.”
Wilmington was able to limit Athens’ three-running back attack. Cory Craig Jr. had 13 carries for 42 yards. Jared Schnapp had seven carries for 37 yards and Camren Bigard added 10 carries for 15 yards.
“[Reaching state] is something we talked about since freshman year,” Craig Jr. said. “We clicked right from the start and we got here.”
