November 26, 2022- On Friday afternoon, the St. Teresa Bulldogs completed the perfect season with a 29-22 victory over the Tri-Valley Vikings in the 2022 IHSA Class 2A State Finals.
The senior heavy team accomplished what so many teams before them could not. The Bulldogs won a State Championship, and they did it without losing a single game.
“Now that we are here, we are different than any other team that has gone through here, St. Teresa’s Billy Guyse said. “We are so happy to be here.”
For most of their games this season, the St. Teresa Bulldogs were in the driver’s seat, but they found themselves in unfamiliar territory as they battled the Tri-Valley Vikings.
The Vikings’ ground and pound offense allowed Tri-Valley to control most of the first half. That was the theme last week against Maroa-Forsyth, when senior running back Blake Regenold, ran for 282 yards and scored five touchdowns. Scoring wise, the Vikings’ workhorse was not as successful today, but he still managed to rack up 215 yards on 43 carries, setting a title game record for carries.
St. Teresa had no answer for Regenold and the Vikings in the first half. On every possession of the first half, Tri-Valley drove down the field, chewing up clock.
While St. Teresa struggled to keep the Vikings out of the red zone, the Bulldogs’ defense made key stops when it mattered most.
On the their first possession, the Vikings drove deep into Bulldogs’ territory. On third down, from St. Teresa’s 16-yard line, Tri-Valley went with a pass play, but it wasn’t a Vikings player who came down with the ball. Instead it was St. Teresa’s Billy Guyse. The senior intercepted Tri-Valley’s Andy Knox.
The Bulldogs took over on their own 1-yard line. On St. Teresa’s first offensive play of the game, senior running back Royce Harper had no room to run, and was tackled in St. Teresa’s end zone, resulting in a safety.
Leading by two, Tri-Valley’s offense marched down the field, and found themselves in the red zone once again. But once again, St. Teresa’s resilient defense stood tall. On fourth down, senior Jeremy Walker broke up a pass in the end zone, giving the ball back to St. Teresa’s offense.
Despite the stops, the Bulldogs’ offense couldn’t take advantage of the opportunities. On the ensuing drive, the Bulldogs were forced to punt. The Vikings took the ball deep into St. Teresa territory, but Tri-Valley still couldn’t punch it in. On a fourth-and-9 play, St. Teresa’s Billy Guyse, knocked the ball away from a Vikings’ receiver. Three trips to the red zone for Tri-Valley and nothing to show for it.
St. Teresa’s offense couldn’t get anything going in the first quarter, but the Bulldogs finally put together a scoring drive in the second quarter. With three minutes to play in the half, St. Teresa’s Brycen Hendrix was able to slip behind the Vikings defenders, and senior Joe Brummer hit the senior track star in stride on a 87-yard touchdown pass. The Bulldogs tacked on two points as senior Matt Brummer found Jeremy Walker in the end zone for the two-point conversion. Hendrix finished the day with 134 yards receiving on three catches and one touchdown reception.
Trailing 8-2, with the clock winding down in the first half, the Vikings needed an answer. And they finally got one. That answer? Blake Regenold. The Vikings drove down the field with ease, and with 15 seconds to play in the first half, the all-state running back punched it in from three yards out. The two-point attempt was no good.
St. Teresa took the knee on the the Bulldogs’ last possession of the half, and Tri-Valley and St. Teresa went into halftime tied at 8.
While the first half saw little scoring, the second half was a different story. The Vikings and the Bulldogs went back and forth.
On St. T’s first possession of the second half, in Vikings’ territory, Royce Harper remained patient and allowed a hole to open up for him to run through. His patience paid off as he ran 22 yards into the end zone. A pass from Joe Brummer to his brother Matt added two more points to St. Teresa’s score. The two-point conversion put St. Teresa up 16-8.
The Vikings responded with a 15-yard touchdown pass from Andy Knox to Cole Klein with 3:43 to play in the third. The St. Teresa defense prevented the Vikings from tying it up with the stop on the two-point attempt.
Leading 16-14, with about three minutes left in the third quarter, St. Teresa faced a fourth-and-2 play. On a gutsy call from Mark Ramsey, St. Teresa dialed up the run, and it paid off. Junior Jacarrion Jones served as the decoy, and then his pancake block freed up senior back Elijah Wills on the run. Wills took the handoff and took off to the end zone on the 76-yard touchdown run. Billy Guyse drilled the extra point, and the Bulldogs went up 23-14. Wills led the team with 92 yards rushing.
Trailing by two possessions, and their season nearing the end, Tri-Valley dug deep and once again drove into St. Teresa territory. Six possessions. All resulting in the Vikings finding their way into the red zone. With less than a minute into the fourth quarter, Blake Regenold powered his way into the end zone. On the two-point conversion, Andy Knox scored on the quarterback keeper. Vikings trailed 23-22.
That was Tri-Valley’s last scoring play, but not the Vikings’ last possession. St. Teresa added one more score. The shifty Billy Guyse, who seemed to be near the ball all game long whether it was offense or defense, was able to get past the Vikings’ defenders and score on a touchdown reception on a fourth-and-3 play. A 38-yard pass from Joe Brummer to Brycen Hendrix set St T up for the score. The Bulldogs went for the two points following the touchdown, but were unsuccessful. Brummer was 5-for-9 with 148 yards and two passing touchdowns on the afternoon.
With five minutes to play in the game, trailing 29-22, the Vikings looked poised to make another red zone trip, but St. Teresa’s Elijah Wills had other plans as he forced a fumble on the first-and-21 play. St. Teresa’s Amare Wallace recovered the ball with 3:50 to go.
Penalties hurt the Bulldogs and they were forced to punt. The Vikings had one last chance to tie and or take the lead. With time winding down, and one timeout, Tri-Valley was forced to go to the passing game. The Vikings did drive into St. Teresa territory, and had a few shots at the end zone, but St. Teresa’s defense did what they had done all afternoon. Bend but don’t break.
With three seconds to play, Vikings’ Andy Knox heaved the ball to a receiver near the goal line, but St. Teresa’s Jack Singer knocked the ball away.
With no time remaining on the clock, the Bulldogs reigned victorious, and were officially cemented in the history books.
St. Teresa won its first state championship since 1979. This is the Bulldogs’ fourth title. This is head coach, Mark Ramsey’s second championship as a head coach, but his first with St. Teresa. His first championship came in 1997 with Central A&M. The last time Ramsey was in a State Championship game was in 2016 when the Bulldogs lost to Forreston, 35-7. That was Ramsey’s first year as head coach for St. Teresa. Now in year seven, Ramsey is back where he started his journey with the Bulldogs. This time he ends the trip out on top.
While Ramsey is no doubt proud of his accomplishments, it is his players who he is most proud of.
“It was great; the kids have been working for this all year,” Ramsey said. “To see it happen was great for them. I’m so proud of them.”
The St. Teresa Bulldogs finish the season, 14-0, and 7-0 in conference play. They are the Central Illinois Conference Champions and now the IHSA Class 2A State Champions.
Photo Courtesy of Illinois High School Association
