NORMAL ― Back and forth they went: Byron running roughshod with its All-State fullback, Caden Considine. And Tolono Unity airing it out with its All-State QB, Dane Eisenmenger.
The IHSA Class 3A state championship shootout was on.
And by the end, it was Considine’s 3A-state-championship-game record of 367 yards rushing that outshined Eisenmenger’s state record 545 yards passing with seven TDs, and Byron hung on for a 56-50 win on Friday.
The Tigers reeled in their fourth 3A state title since 1999, and their third in the past five years, and the Tigers finished the season undefeated, with one of the hottest rushing attacks, and one of the hottest running backs, in the state.
Considine, who had 247 yards on the ground with five touchdowns last weekend as Byron handed Richmond-Burton its first loss of the year, entered the title game with a 12.3-yard-per-carry average, rushing for 1,657 yards on 135 carries with 33 touchdowns. Byron averaged 9.5 yards per carry as a team this season.
But Unity came into the game with one of the sharpest QBs in 3A. Eisenmenger had thrown for 2,902 yards with 32 touchdowns and just three interceptions headed in. Unity averaged 241.8 yards per game through the air leading up to the state-final showdown.
And neither team let up at all on Friday. They combined for a title-game record of 1,211 yards between them as both offenses clicked throughout. They also set a 3A-title-game record with 106 points scored.
The 3A state final was one of four games of the first day of the IHSA state championship game weekend. Normally there are quadruple-headers on Friday and Saturday, although this year the Saturday games were postponed due to an impending winter storm.
Here is a complete breakdown of the game:
IHSA Class 3A football state final live updates
FIRST QUARTER
➤ Tolono Unity 7, Byron 0 (10:44 1st quarter)
A 24-yard touchdown pass from Eisenmenger to Tre Hoggard capped off Unity’s opening drive with a touchdown, and puts Byron behind right away.
➤ Tolono Unity 7, Byron 6 (6:11 1st quarter)
Byron powers down the field and answers the Rockets’ opening TD with a touchdown drive of their own. The Tigers get in the end zone on a 12-yard TD pass from Andrew Talbert to Kole Aken, but the extra-point kick sails wide left.
➤ Byron 14, Tolono Unity 7 (3:15 1st quarter)
Powered by two long runs from Considine, including a 45-yarder down to Unity-21, Byron takes its first lead on 21-yard TD run to the pylon by Dawson Criddle.
➤ Byron 14, Tolono Unity 14 (:55 1st quarter)
We have ourselves a ballgame, as Unity QB Eisenmenger leads his team down the field and throws another TD pass to Hoggard to tie the game late in the first quarter.
SECOND QUARTER
➤ Tolono Unity 21, Byron 14 (8:32 2nd quarter)
Eisenmenger throws his third TD pass of the first half, this time it comes on a jump-ball situation to Mason O’Neill from 10 yards out. (Eisenmenger is 12-for-18 passing for 217 yards at this point in the game.)
➤ Byron 22, Tolono Unity 21 (6:13 2nd quarter)
Byron answers with Talbert’s second touchdown pass to Aken, and a 2-point-conversion run from Considine to take the lead.
➤ Tolono Unity 29, Byron 22 (4:47 2nd quarter)
And the shootout continues, as Eisenmenger throws his fourth TD pass of the first half to hand the lead back to Unity.
➤ Tolono Unity 29, Byron 28 (3:52 2nd quarter)
Considine for 22; Considine for 22; Considine for 20; and Considine for a 22-yard touchdown. Byron, well Considine, answers quickly, and what a game this is early on.
Considine had 154 yards rushing in the first half, while Eisenmenger threw for 294 yards and four TDs in his first-half performance. Talbert was 3-for-4 for 77 yards with two TD passes, but he also threw an interception late in the second quarter with Byron driving and looking for the lead.
THIRD QUARTER
➤ Byron 36, Tolono Unity 29 (8:07 3rd quarter)
Considine got the bulk of the work, earning seven carries on the 10-play drive. But QB Talbert finished it off, giving Byron the lead back after the first possession of the second half with a 3-yard TD run.
➤ Byron 42, Tolono Unity 29 (:14 3rd quarter)
Considine, who converted a key fourth-down during the drive, scored his second TD to give Byron a bigger lead.
FOURTH QUARTER
➤ Byron 50, Tolono Unity 36 (9:56 4th quarter)
Considine breaks free for a 61-yard run down to the 6-yard line, setting a 3A title-game record with 332 yards rushing. Talbert scores on the next play, and Byron boosts its lead to 14.
➤ Byron 56, Tolono Unity 43 (6:01 4th quarter)
Byron makes it too tough for Unity to come back with one more Considine TD. He now has 367 yard and three TDs.
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.
