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Prep Confidential

Unzicker left, Unzicker right...

Posted by: Marcus Jackson

Saturday, September 20, 2008 12:01 AM

I've only seen one rushing performance in person that was more impressive than what Colten Unzicker did Friday night in Fisher.

The senior tailback broke Alex Deer's single-game rushing mark of 327 yards by running through the Lexington defense for 394 yards and two touchdowns in the Bunnies' 50-34 triumph.

Nothing fancy from Unzicker or the Bunnies, just some basic running plays off tackle to the left and right and the offensive line provided some gaping holes. Once Unzicker gets to the second level, there isn't a linebacker around that can tackle him one-on-one. Not with the quick feet he possesses. One juke lef tor right and he's off to the races.

What was surprising to me was Unzicker being caught from behind a couple of times. He's fast, but the Minutemen were able to track him down. Maybe he was tired, or maybe Lexington has some pretty good team speed. Unzicker says's he's not used to being caught.

"That irritates me," he said. "I can't remember that happening any time this year. I've got some work to do still."

Fisher ran for 581 yards against Lexington. Quarterback Guy Kirby picked up 108 and fullback Zach West had 65.

(In case you were wondering, the best rushing performance I saw was my senior year in high school at Thornwood when Lockport's Craig Duppong ran for 455 yards and eight touchdowns against us. Don't blame me, I was playing quarterback and we lost the game 57-43).

Pretty neat thing they do in Fisher. Once the game is over and the Bunnies have won, fans take the field and join the team huddle as Matt Leng addresses the team. They listen intently, cheer when provoked and do something called "Bunny Jacks" which Leng decided to skip Friday. I'm guessing it's a dance and a cheer sort of thing. Leng said they can do it next week after Fisher moves to 5-0 against Tri-Valley for homecoming.

Some other observations from Friday:

— Looks like Cerro Gordo/DeLand-Weldon had everyone fooled. The Broncos were the overwhelming favorites to win the Little Okaw Valley Conference but they looked like anything but that in a 34-20 loss to Arcola on Friday. Even more surprising was quarterback Nathan Lawler going 1 for 14 through the air. Maybe Arcola's tough non-conference schedule — it made trips to Salt Fork and Orion — is starting to pay dividends.

— Doesn't look like Champaign Central is ready for the prime time just yet. After a 24-7 loss at home to Bloomington, Dave Jacobs' squad is trying to find some answers. Remember, the Maroons are young. And a loss like that for a team with such high expectations might be deflating.

— St. Thomas More learned it's pretty tough to go on the road and win in the Sangamon Valley, especially at Momence. The good news for the Sabers is there doesn't appear to be a real dominant team in the league and they can certainly come back and win the crown.

I'm taking next Friday night off, as I'll be traveling to Penn State to cover the Illini and Nittany Lions. But I'll be sure to update the blog next week. Any questions, you can always e-mail me. Hope you enjoyed the Friday night games.

mjackson@news-gazette.com