11/24/2023
BY JACK BULLOCK
BLOOMINGTON/NORMAL - On Friday in the state championship game was essentially a disaster for Mt. Carmel.

Nothing went right for the Aces and everything went as planned for Byron.

The Tigers scored at will, taking all of the drama out of the title tilt by halftime.

Rushing for 530-yards and nine touchdowns, the now 14-0 Tigers set a state records for most points scored in a season (823) and the 69-7 win is the largest margin of victory in IHSA championship game history.

The Byron defense limited the Aces to just 206-net yards on offense, with 81 of the yards coming on the only highlight MC had in the contest.

Three different runners went over 100-yards for Coach Jeff Boyer.

Andrew Talbert (154), Caden Considine (153) and Brayden Knoll (103) led a punishing ground attack that Mt. Carmel couldn't stop or even slow down.

It was the final game of the outstanding prep football career of Mt. Carmel senior quarterback Blayne Sisson.

Sisson accumulated nearly 10,000 total yards in his four year career with most of the yardage coming in the past three seasons.

The University of Illinois recruit ended up with 150-yard rushing on 16-attempts.

However he was just 4-of-14 passing for just 15-yards while throwing three interceptions.

He also had a lost fumble as every turnover Mt. Carmel had turned into Byron points in the rout.

Sisson scored the Aces' only touchdown on an 81-yard touchdown early in the third quarter.

Byron never punted the ball and scored on every possession they had.

Not only are the Tigers' talented but they're young.

Talbert, who racked up his yardage on just five-carries and scored three TD's, is just a 5-8 freshman.

Considine is a 6-0 sophomore (two touchdowns) and Knoll is a junior (two touchdowns).

This is bad news for potential teams that will try to get the the Tigers way next season.

Quarterback Ayden Shank is the only senior in that starting backfield and he, too, scored on a one-yard touchdown run.

Seniors Carson Behn and Carter Groharing each scored on short TD runs to close out the scoring.

"These guys certainly saved their best for last, I'll tell you that," said Coach Boyer. "We said we're just going to go down there to do what we do. Just be who we are. And that's what we did tonight."

It took just six plays for Byron to take the lead after taking the opening kickoff.

Considine accounted for 55 of the 67-yards on the first drive.

He ripped off runs of 13 and 27-yards before finding the endzone from 15-yards out.

Groharing intercepted Sisson on the Aces' fifth play from scrimmage, getting the Tigers in business at the Aces' 46.

Byron pounded the ball on a 13-play march for the second TD with the Shank one-yard plunge and a 14-0 lead.

Disaster stuck Mt. Carmel on its next play as Sisson was hit on a run up the middle by Considine and the ball was recovered by linebacker Jared Claunch at the Aces' 35.

Talbert scored his first TD with a 29-yard run on the third play of the short scoring drive.

Another PAT made it 21-0 with just :26 left in the first quarter.

“Early on we turned the ball over and they (Byron) are too good to do that. We gave them opportunities and they're an outstanding football team, give them credit,” said Coach Brewer, who played in consecutive state title games for Mt. Carmel in 2001 and 2002. “They're very good on both lines. I thought early we were doing some of the things that we wanted to do but when you have turnovers against an excellent football team it's hard to overcome that.”

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After giving the ball up on downs in its next drive, the Aces gave up another long touchdown run.

Talbert tallied his next score, going 38-yards for the score and a 28-0 margin with 7:39 left before halftime.

As they had done in the previous three offensive chances, Mt. Carmel failed to sustain a drive.

A Sisson punt was returned by Byron by Knoll into Aces' territory.

Knoll, on the second play, ran 31-yards for another Byron TD.

Senior kicker Nick Drake hit his fifth consecutive PAT for a 35-0 lead at 4:58 remaining in the second quarter.

The final dagger in the first half came on the next Aces' drive.

Behind Sisson Mt. Carmel finally got into Byron territory but the senior was intercepted for the second time in the game by senior corner back Kye Aken at the Byron 23.

Talbert added to the Aces' misery on the first play after the turnover.

A rush up the middle with great blocking from the offensive line produced a 77-yard touchdown run.

Drake added another point after kick for a 42-0 spread.

Aken added to the Aces' nightmare with another interception.

Considine finished off the first half scoring, wrapping up a quick five-play, 59-yard drive by going 17-yards for paydirt with just :25 left.

The sophomore back went up the middle before cutting to an opening on the right side of the field and into the endzone.

Drake nailed his seventh PAT to send the teams to intermission at 49-0.

Byron scored again on its first possession of the second half, taking advantage of a short field.

Knoll scored on a 34-yard run for a 56-0 lead as the continuous clock ticked away for the Byron championship.

Sisson finally got the Aces on the scoreboard with an 81-yard TD run down the left sideline.

Senior kicker Shade Loudermilk hit the extra point to make it 56-7.

Byron added another long drive for a score, with Behn scoring from six-yards out and another Drake PAT.

The final points came on a Behn 13-yard run.

Junior running back Ben Denton kicked the extra point that was no good.

It was one of a few mistakes made by Byron in the dominating performance which earned the program its third championship, and the second in three seasons.

The Aces (12-2) reached the championship game with a pair of wins against nemesis Tolono Unity and then high-scoring and undefeated Roxana, both games on the road.

“These guys, these seniors, going back to when they were sophomores that was our first year back in the playoffs after Covid and they (Tolono Unity) have been a major speed bump for us,” said Coach Brewer. “When we got to the playoffs we were really clicking and playing our best. When it mattered and counted most their level of play rose each week.”