The seniors, who are first cousins, have dreamed of winning the big game since they were kids playing catch in the backyard.
“Forever, since we were yea-high,” Shipley said. “It was always, ‘Let’s go play catch.’ So I know if I toss it up there, Jacob’s going to get it.”
Shipley and the lanky, 6-foot-6-inch Dunkel hooked up for first-half touchdowns of 9 and 22 yards before the Sobos turned a 14-14 halftime tie into a 50-22 rout of El Paso for the school’s first state football title, a Class 1A triumph at Memorial Stadium.
“When we got off the bus today we all just had the feeling that we were going to win,” Shipley said.
Shipley, directing a five wide-receiver offense from the shotgun formation, finished with 216 yards passing and four TDs. He was also his team’s second-leading rusher with 53 yards.
“Their quarterback is an outstanding athlete,” El Paso coach Mike Souhrada said. “We couldn’t always shut him down.”
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But a victory was far from certain for South Beloit (13-1) when the game was locked in a tie at halftime because the Sobos had a major problem to solve?El Paso’s bruising fullback Derek Hunsinger.
The 5-10, 185-pound senior keyed two time-consuming drives in the first half, eating up a total of 12 minutes 55 seconds.
Hunsinger, who punctuated the game’s opening drive with a 2-yard touchdown plunge, finished the half with 135 rushing yards but was held to just 59 in the second half.
“I was gassed,” Hunsinger said. “Both my ankles hurt, my back’s killing me. They were pounding me.”
Hunsinger wasn’t at all consoled by the knowledge he had set the IHSA title-game record with 42 rushing attempts.
“It doesn’t matter how I did,” he said. “The turnovers hurt the most.”
El Paso (13-1) gave away five fumbles, including two in the fourth quarter while the Comets were still within striking distance at 36-22.
The last two gaffes set up South Beloit’s final two scores?a 20-yard TD catch and 51-yard fumble return by Brian Little.
South Beloit 50, El Paso 22
El Paso (13-1) 6 8 0 8 ? 22 South Beloit (13-1) 8 6 16 20 - 50
SCORING
1st 05:33 EL PASO – Hunsinger, D. 2 yd run (Duffy, Brandon kick failed), 14 plays, 58 yards, TOP 6:27, EL PASO 6 – BELOIT 0
01:41 BELOIT – Dunkel, Jacob 9 yd pass from Shipley, Jered (Goldsworthy, J. rush), 5 plays, 23 yards, TOP 1:44, EL PASO 6 – BELOIT 8
2nd 08:48 BELOIT – Dunkel, Jacob 22 yd pass from Shipley, Jered (Staver, Justin rush failed), 2 plays, 21 yards, TOP 0:42, EL PASO 6 – BELOIT 14
00:59 EL PASO – Petta, Joe 7 yd run (Carr, Chris pass), 17 plays, 98 yards, TOP 6:28, EL PASO 14 – BELOIT 14
3rd 05:49 BELOIT – Eschen, Gary 10 yd pass from Shipley, Jered (Goldsworthy, J. rush), 5 plays, 55 yards, TOP 1:30, EL PASO 14 – BELOIT 22
00:58 BELOIT – Goldsworthy, J. 3 yd run (Goldsworthy, J. rush), 7 plays, 65 yards, TOP 2:28, EL PASO 14 – BELOIT 30
4th 08:56 ELPASO – Carr, Chris 16 yd pass from Sigler, Kyle (Sigler, Kyle rush), 10 plays, 44 yards, TOP 4:02, EL PASO 22 – BELOIT 30
05:18 BELOIT – Staver, Justin 4 yd run (Shipley, Jered pass failed), 10 plays, 50 yards, TOP 3:38, EL PASO 22 – BELOIT 36
03:29 BELOIT – Little, Brian 20 yd pass from Shipley, Jered (Dunkel, Jacob kick), 3 plays, 20 yards, TOP 1:49, EL PASO 22 – BELOIT 43
02:36 BELOIT – Little, Brian 51 yd fumble recovery (Dunkel, Jacob kick), , EL PASO 22 – BELOIT 50
STATISTICS
EL PASO BELOIT
FIRST DOWNS 17 22
RUSHES-YARDS (NET) 62-217 31-138
PASSING YDS (NET) 16 216
Passes Att-Comp-Int 2-1-0 28-15-2
TOTAL OFFENSE PLAYS-YARDS 64-233 59-354
Fumble Returns-Yards 0-0 2-69
Punt Returns-Yards 1-0 0-0
Kickoff Returns-Yards 7-156 4-60
Interception Returns-Yards 2-0 0-0
Punts (Number-Avg) 3-30.7 2-29.5
Fumbles-Lost 7-5 3-0
Penalties-Yards 5-28 9-66
Possession Time 28:16 19:44
Sacks By: Number-Yards 3-22 1-9
RUSHING: El Paso-Hunsinger, D. 42-180; Petta, Joe 9-37; Fogle, Matt
1-5; Hill, Isaac 6-3; Sigler, Kyle 4-minus 8. South Beloit-Listenbee, D.
11-74; Shipley, Jered 13-53; Staver, Justin 4-9; Goldsworthy, J. 2-3;
McClusky, Corey 1-minus 1.
PASSING: El Paso-Sigler, Kyle 1-2-0-16. South Beloit-Shipley, Jered
15-28-2-216.
RECEIVING: El Paso-Carr, Chris 1-16. South Beloit-Dunkel, Jacob 6-75;
Listenbee, D. 3-51; Little, Brian 2-39; Eschen, Gary 2-29; Listenbee, Jazz
2-22.
INTERCEPTIONS: El Paso-Price, Cory 1-0; Hill, Isaac 1-0. South
Beloit-None.
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SACKS (UA-A): El Paso-Pfister, Kyle 1-1; Gilliland, A. 0-1. South
Beloit-Jones, Chris 1-0.
TACKLES (UA-A): El Paso-Price, Cory 7-2; Hunsinger, D. 5-3;
Gilliland, A. 3-3; Carr, Chris 5-0; Marzke, Ryan 4-0; Hill, Isaac 3-1;
Dudley, Joel 3-1; Bean, Adam 3-0; Pfister, Kyle 2-1; Petta, Joe 1-1; Duncan,
Mike 1-1; Harsh, Brian 0-1. South Beloit-Bennington, D. 1-16; Jones, Chris
4-10; Little, Brian 4-5; Listenbee, D. 5-3; Goldsworthy, J. 4-4; McClusky,
Corey 4-4; Staver, Justin 1-6; Sager, Joe 2-4; Baker, Brad 2-4; Listenbee,
Jazz 1-3; Rowlett, Rich 1-2; Jones, Ryne 0-3; Berendes, Brad 0-3; Purdy,
Logan 0-2; McGuire, Ryan 0-1; Jones, Brandon 0-1; Crawford, Pat 0-1.
Stadium: Memorial Stadium. Kickoff time: 1:48 p.m. End of game: 4:17 p.m. Total elapsed time: 2:29. Officials: Referee: John McAvoy Jr.; Umpire: Robert Schultz; Linesman: John Rigg; Line judge: Dave Figueira; Back judge: Keith Norman; Scorer: John Fredrick. Temperature: 55. Wind: SW @ 23 mph. Weather: Partly cloudy.