A-Town vs. Annawan/Wethersfield II: 'It's good we know them. It's bad we know them.'
ABINGDON — It seems only appropriate those associated with the Abingdon-Avon High School football team met on the stage in the school's auditorium early Monday evening.
The curtain was closed and the spotlight wasn't on the Tornadoes — in the location they meet at on a regular basis during the season — but A-Town has drawn attention in 2021.
Abingdon-Avon ended up going 8-1 overall in the regular season, and the Tornadoes are set to partake in the first round of the playoffs. It's the fifth time the squad will take the gridiron in Week 10 under Rick Quinn.
Well as Abingdon-Avon anyway, the Commandos of Abingdon did so in 2011 and 2012 with Quinn, who was hired in 2010, at the reins. The Abingdon-Avon District 276 consolidated school district officially started July 1, 2013.
"It's always awesome when the guys have an opportunity to play in the playoffs. That's why they put all the work in," Quinn said. "It means you've had some good accomplishments during the regular season but now that we are in the playoffs everybody's got the same record. Everybody's 0-0, and they've all got the same goals, same aspirations.
"Everybody is gunning for the same thing right now. They all want to play another week, practice another week, and make it last as long as they can for their seniors and that's what we want," Quinn added. "The teams that play the best, execute the best and stay together are the ones who are going to be playing for the trophy.”
A-Town to face Annawan/Wethersfield
Abingdon-Avon received the No. 1 seed in Class 1A, and the Tornadoes open the playoffs at 7 p.m. Friday against the No. 16 seed Titans of Annawan/Wethersfield (5-4) at Don Viar Memorial Field in Abingdon.
A-Town and A/W have already met this season. The Tornadoes handed the Titans a 34-12 loss in Lincoln Trail Conference action in Week 5.
"It's good we know them. It's bad we know them," Quinn said. "I'm sure they've got a bunch of film on us. We've got a bunch of film on them.
"They run a similar offense as us. They do things we do," he added. "They're a good team. They've got some playmakers. I think they're very very dangerous."
Quinn knows what Abingdon-Avon needs to do versus A/W.
"We've got to play with better energy, and we have to dominate the line of scrimmage," Quinn said. "If we can find a way to bring the intensity we brought Week 8 and play the way we did on both sides of the ball I think we can be very dangerous.
"We're going to have to start fast," Quinn added. "Any time you give a team hope it puts you in trouble. We're going to have to start fast and try to get on top early."
Tornadoes' first loss was last week
A-Town closed out the regular season with a 40-26 home loss to United last Friday evening, and Quinn wasn't on the sidelines to take in the defeat. After he picked up his second unsportsmanlike conduct penalty, Quinn was automatically ejected early in the second half in A-Town's 20-19 road win over Knoxville in Week 8.
Per the Illinois High School Association's rulebook, he wasn't able to be on the sidelines in Week 9. Jerrard "Boo" Quinn, a Tornadoes assistant coach, filled in for his brother against the Red Storm.
"I put them in a bad situation. It's not something that I planned to do. It's something that happened and because of it maybe things didn't go the way we had planned," Rick Quinn said. "I don't want to take anything away from United or our coaches but everybody had a different job Friday night than normally.
"I think we showed some grit getting back in the game. It was 20-6 at half, we came out in the second half and we battled back," Quinn added. "The game just got away from us. We know we have to play better. We know we have to get back to the things we were doing the first eight weeks. The good thing is we have an opportunity to get right this week. It's not going to be easy. We know we have to play well and execute but it's nice to have that second season."
By the numbers
Abingdon-Avon senior quarterback Easten Schisler has completed 59 of 102 passes for 912 yards and 14 touchdowns. Schisler, who has been picked off four times, also has 69 rushes for 561 yards and 10 TDs.
Senior Drake DeJaynes has 91 carries for 556 yards and four touchdowns for the Tornadoes. Senior Parker Darst has 52 rushes for 337 yards and four TDs, and he has five catches for 53 yards and a touchdown. Sophomore Tyler Condreay has six carries for 148 yards and a touchdown.
Senior Clay Slagel has 29 catches for 615 yards and eight touchdowns. Senior Parker Stoneking has 15 receptions for 164 yards and four TDs. He also has a rushing touchdown, and Stoneking completed 9 of 20 passes for 209 yards and a pair of TDs in Abingdon-Avon’s win over Princeville in Week 7, as Schisler was unavailable.
Sophomore Kellen Hook has 10 grabs for 202 yards and two touchdowns, and junior Ronan Pompeo has a 5-yard TD catch for A-Town.
Tornadoes' results
Week 1: Abingdon-Avon 40, ROWVA/Williamsfield 12
Week 2: Abingdon-Avon 44, Stark County 9
Week 3: Abingdon-Avon 52, Ridgewood 14
Week 4: Abingdon-Avon 38, Mercer County 14
Week 5: Abingdon-Avon 34, Annawan/Wethersfield 12
Week 6: Abingdon-Avon 1, Havana 0 (Forfeit win)
Week 7: Abingdon-Avon 18, Princeville 7
Week 8: Abingdon-Avon 20, Knoxville 19
Week 9: United 40, Abingdon-Avon 26
Matthew Wheaton can be reached at (309) 315-6073 or at mwheaton@register-mail.com. Follow him on Twitter @matthewlwheaton
This article originally appeared on Galesburg Register-Mail: IHSA Football: A-Town hopes to repeat result vs. A/W
