(Left to right) Unity football captains Grant Albaugh, Dillon Rutledge, Chance Ingleman, and Blake Kimball hold up the team's runner-up trophy after the Class 3A title game at Huskies Stadium on the Northern Illinois University campus in DeKalb. In the program's sixth state final appearance since head coach Scott Hamilton took the reigns, the Rockets fell 35-7 to Byron Tigers finishing the season with a 13-1 record on Friday. More photos and recap coming later this week.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Unity's Nick Nosler comforts teammate Oran Varela as the final seconds tick off the game clock in the fourth quarter. Nosler, a junior, led all defenders with a game-high 11 tackles, five of which were solos. Varela finished the game with six tackles for the Rockets.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Lineman Karson Richardson (right) receives a hug from a teammate as time runs out for the Rockets. Byron held the Unity offense was held to just 205 yards of total offense and keep the ball for 32 minutes and five seconds during the combined four quarters.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Unity fans go crazy on a touchdown pass to Dillon Rutledge as time ran out in the first half. The 37-yard pass play would be the Rockets only score of the game.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
The Unity Dance Team performs for Rocket fans during halftime. The Rockets trailed on the scoreboard, 21-7.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Rockets' wide receiver Jay Saunders bobbles a pass from Blake Kimball in the third quarter. Saunders caught three passes for 39 yards in the state final game.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Unity offensive linemen line up infront of a propane heater to stay warm. Temperatures at game time was in the upper 20s.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Liam Alt and the Rocket offensive line move after the ball is snapped. The Class 3A game lasted just 2 hours and three minutes.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Wide open in the end zone, senior receiver Dillon Ruthledge hauls in a 37-yard pass in the second half for a Unity touchdown. Rutledge caught another pass, a 12-yard one, to finish the final game of his prep career with 49 yards.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Blake Kimball hands the ball off to teammate Matt Brown. The Byron Tigers effectively bottled up the Unity offense with Brown good for just 77 yards on 17 carries.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Unity fans root for their team during the first half.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Austin McDaniel pulls down a Byron ball carrier during the first half. McDaniel finished the game with seven tackles, one for a loss.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Will Cowan stretches out to push Byron ball carrier Chandler Binkley out of bounds in the first quarter.
Photo: PhotoNews Media/Clark Brooks
Dear Editor,
My name is Amber Gumm and I'm the mom of #54 sophomore Tyler Gumm on Unity football. Unity played Byron in the state game and we took home second.
On our way home we stopped at Culver's in Rochelle. While in the ladies' room I got to talking to two ladies who were (from) Byron. When I told them I was (from) Unity....the oldest lady gave me the biggest hug and both said how impressed they were with how respectful our team was and how you could tell they were really great kids. They said their entire stands were impressed with the sportsmanship our boys showed. They praised them so high and said that we were the best team they have played. "It was an HONOR to play them"
Y'all, when I tell you I ugly cried, I'm not kidding.
Our kids may not have walked away with the trophy but they walked away with so much more.
The complete respect of not only the other team but the fans as well. Coach Hamilton and all the football coaches, please know we cannot thank you enough for what you instill in our kiddos. Football isn't just a sport, it's a family, it's a community.
I couldn't be more proud of these kids. Please let your players know that they didn't lose tonight, they won EXACTLY where it counts. On to next year!!!!!
My boyfriend, aged 32, embodies the quintessential extrovert—gregarious, enamored with nightlife, and perpetually surrounded by a coterie of approximately twenty friends who reside in close proximity and convene incessantly. Initially, I admired his vivacity and character.
