Sewell runs for nearly 200 yards to lead Mattoon over Olney, 33-6

By Greg Powers

Festivities abounded at the rededication of Mattoon High School’s Gaines Field Friday night.

The Green Wave football team was happy to put the exclamation point on a special night.

Mattoon outscored Olney 27-6 in the second half and cruised to a 33-6 victory over the visiting Tigers.

But the first half was anything but easy.

A pesky Richland County squad stymied numerous Mattoon scoring chances, and the lead was just 6-0 for the Wave heading into intermission.

“We had plenty of opportunities in the first half to score and we just couldn’t punch it in,” Mattoon head coach Jarad Kimbro said. “It was nice to see us capitalize in the second half.”

Following a flyover from a 1949 military plane as part of the pregame festivities, Mattoon struck quickly when Jake Butler returned the opening kickoff to the Olney 19 yard line. Two plays later, Trysten Sewell scored the first of two touchdowns, and it looked like the Wave might run away with it after stopping Olney on fourth down inside Tiger territory.

But the Green Wave had drive after drive stall in the first half, unable to capitalize on good field position. The Mattoon defense rose to the occasion, however, pitching a shutout in the first half and the scored remained 6-0 after two quarters.

Olney received the second half kickoff, but again the Green Wave defense stepped up, stopping the Tigers on fourth down near midfield. This time, the Mattoon offense did not let the opportunity escape. Deaiden Arnold scored from 15 yards out, giving Mattoon a two-score lead. The Wave never looked back.

Sewell added a 13-yard run early in the fourth quarter and Braden Clatfelter’s extra point extended the Wave lead to 19-0.

After forcing another turnover on downs, Mattoon found some life in its passing game when Slater Trier connected with Butler for the third time this season for a 20-yard touchdown pass. Clatfelter’s extra point was good and the lead ballooned to 26-0.

Olney finally got on the board late in the fourth quarter on a three-yard pass play, cutting the Mattoon lead to 26-6. But another rushing touchdown, this one a 25-yard dash by Arnold, would put the game away midway through the fourth quarter.

Sewell had a monster game, unofficially rushing for 183 yards on 14 carries and adding three touchdowns. Deaiden Arnold gained 83 yards on nine carries, providing a nice 1-2 punch for the Mattoon offensive backfield.

“We have a 1 and a 1a,” Kimbro said. “We have confidence in both those guys and they want to see each other succeed.”

A big difference between last week and this week was the work upfront.

Mattoon tallied 405 yards of total offense, with nearly 300 of those on the ground, while the defense limited the Tigers to 40 rushing yards. Kimbro added, “We have some young guys up front, starting two sophomores, plus a center playing the line for the first year. Our senior tackles provide some great leadership also.”

Mattoon hits the road next Friday to face the Highland Bulldogs.