It was a tough final night of the regular season for both of our Prairieland Media Sports teams, with United and Monmouth-Roseville both dropping their Week 9 matchups before turning their attention to the postseason.
Starting with the United Red Storm, their three-game winning streak came to an end with a 54-28 loss to Havana.
United fell behind 12-0 early and spent the rest of the night trying to battle back, but the Red Storm had trouble slowing down the big play throughout the game. Havana took a 33-12 lead into halftime and continued to pull away in the second half.
Kellen Boone still put together a big night through the air, finishing 18-of-32 for 288 yards and four touchdowns. Wyatt Bockelman hauled in seven passes for 127 yards and two scores, while Carter Olson and Gabe Clark also found the end zone. United finished with 359 yards of total offense.
The loss drops United to 3-6 and snaps a three-game winning streak, but the Red Storm season is far from over. United is headed to the playoffs for the first time in five years and will find out their Week 10 opponent when the IHSA playoff pairings are announced Saturday night.
Monmouth-Roseville also had a tough night at Coach Dobry Field, falling 40-16 to Orion in the regular season finale.
The Titans were within a touchdown in the third quarter and driving with a chance to cut into the lead when a costly fumble ended the possession. Orion answered with a touchdown to push the lead to two scores and never looked back, eventually extending the advantage to 33-16 in the fourth quarter.
Despite the loss, Monmouth-Roseville was able to have success on the ground. Landon Montroy finished with 129 yards and a touchdown, while Lars Bergren ran for a season-high 157 yards. Kane Johnson added the other Titan touchdown.
The loss drops Monmouth-Roseville to 4-5 on the season, but just like United, the Titans will get another chance next week in the postseason.
Both teams will find out who and where they play during Saturday night’s IHSA playoff pairing show.
