Peoria Notre Dame defeated nine-time state champion Rochester in the first round

ROCHESTER — Ben Mullens seemed almost in shock as he hobbled to the Notre Dame Peoria bench as his teammates celebrated on the ragged Rocket Booster Stadium turf after his team’s improbable 59-58 victory in Friday night, which ended the season of defending Class 4A champion Rochester. Mullens, it turned out, wanted to take it all in for a few more moments to understand what his team had just accomplished.

In one of the most epic playoff games in perhaps the state’s history, the 13th-seeded Irish narrowly survived a valiant, battered Rockets team in a game both teams had seemed locked in just minutes earlier. . In the end, everything went according to plan for the Irish thanks to quarterback Mullen, the running of linebacker Jack Hanley, and the right leg and right arm of defensive lineman/linebacker/kicker Lawson Alwan.

“It was such a great game. I’ll remember this game forever,” said Mullens, whose green and white Kelly uniform was covered in mud. “It’s just an incredible feeling to win this tournament.”

For the first time since 2008, the nine-time state champion Rockets lost in the first round. Not only was it the first first-round playoff loss for No. 4 Rochester in that span, but the Rockets had not failed to reach at least the quarterfinals in any playoff series since 2008.

While Hanley probably deserved the game ball after scoring five touchdowns, including one from 33 yards out with 3 minutes, 7 seconds left in regulation, it was Alwan who was the Irish’s real hero in the end. Not only did he make a 30-yard field goal with 1.8 seconds left in regulation to tie the game 52-52, but he then blocked the extra point after Rochester’s Tanner Beal scored on the Rockets’ first possession of overtime and retained the Irish six. plays four downs from the 10-yard line for seven points.

On fourth down, about three inches from the goal line, Mullens sounded the horn and passed the ball to Alvan, who barely cleared the ball over the white line. With the score now tied at 58-58, Alwan kicked the extra point well off the uprights.

The Rocher players fell to their knees as the Irish players danced jubilantly along with a sizable group of fans who had traveled from Peoria.

Alwan credited junior lineman Jacob Khoury for helping him block the extra point in overtime.

“He got the guard to open up a little bit and gave me a little, little window and I was able to put my right hand up and block it,” Alwan said. “After that field goal that tied the game, it (the extra kick) was easy. I felt the nerves go away and I knew we had them.”

More: Springfield Area High School Football: Live Updates, First Round Playoff Game Results

Rochester, which lost starting guard Brian Zulauf early in the season, emerged as an offensive juggernaut as the season progressed. Entering this game, the Rockets were averaging 39 points per game. But no, the defense was not as good as last season’s dominant team. It’s not that there was no effort.

“They’re a young team and they played hard,” Rockets coach Derek Leonard said. “We just didn’t play our best game today. They were physical and superior to us physically, but you know what kind of person? I love these kids and I love these seniors, and people can’t assume that winning just happens. That’s not true, and I think that was a real lesson for everyone.”

The first half featured touchdowns on its first 11 combined possessions, with the Irish leading 42-38. Rochester’s defensive line became much tighter in the second half and it took the Irish over 15 minutes to score another point. In the end, the Irish running game proved too much for Rochester, as the visitors rushed for 460 yards. Mullens only attempted three passes in the game, but they were big ones towards the end, for 56 yards.

Kayden Stout had a strong game for the Rockets, rushing for 127 yards on 19 carries and rushing for 9 yards in overtime. Tanner Beal scored three touchdowns for the Rockets and the three quarterbacks combined for 230 yards on 12-of-19 passing.

Hanley not only rushed for 212 yards, but also caught a huge pass on the Irish field goal that tied the game at 52-52. He also ran for 88 yards and a touchdown.

“He’s our superstar,” Alwan said. “This is our guy. He does all this for us. But it’s been a team effort for us the whole way.”

Rochester finished the season 7–3. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak.

“There are no great lessons in the playoffs, but that will ultimately be the case for some of our young guys,” Leonard said. “For our seniors, they can walk off this field with their heads held high.”

Adrian Dater is a freelance writer for the State Journal-Register. He can be reached through the sports department at [email protected]..

This article originally appeared in the State Journal-Register: IHSA Football Playoffs: Peoria Notre Dame shocks everyone with upset win over Rochester