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Maddie shines, Aurora Christian advances

OREGON — While Aurora Christian’s luck is going from bad to brutal, Eagles quarterback Anthony Maddie’s play has gone from outstanding to out-of-this-world good.

Maddie threw just three incompletions in his 22 attempts Friday night at Oregon, hitting on his first 10 passes in the Eagles’ 34-21 victory in the second round of the Class 3A playoffs.

The Eagles (10-1) will be back at home next week against either Winnebago (8-2) or Wilmington (7-3). But they likely will be without leading tackler Mitch Holtz who went down on the first series with what coach Don Beebe thought is a season-ending ACL injury.

That bad break comes a week after the same thing happened last week to two-way lineman R.J. Morris who had surgery on his ACL Wednesday.

“We’re really hurting,” Beebe said. “We have a lot of key guys hurting. It’s sad to see these are senior kids going down with these devastating injuries and their seasons are probably over. But we’re still in it and we are playing in the quarterfinal game and we have other guys who are just going to have to step up. As long as we have No. 9 (Maddie) on the field I feel pretty good.”

Maddie didn’t rack up his 19-for-22 night on a bunch of screens or easy completions. He consistently threw the ball down the field putting the ball right on his receivers’ hands while throwing for 381 yards, 3 touchdowns and no interceptions.

If that wasn’t enough, he also ran for Aurora Christian’s other two touchdowns.

“Our offense looked unbelievable,” Maddie said. “We have a lot of confidence. Coach Beebe had a lot of great plays in we were able to take advantage of. More than me throwing the ball those receivers, the line and coach Beebe was the biggest part.”

Oregon (7-4) played the Eagles much tougher than last year’s 38-0 playoff loss. The main reason was the way the Hawks ran the ball.

Neither defense could stop the other offense. While the Eagles moved the ball through the air with ease, Oregon was just as effective on the ground running 59 times for 313 yards. Neither team punted.

“Defensively we couldn’t get that team off the field,” Beebe said.

Oregon capitalized on Aurora Christian’s only turnover, a fumble on the opening play from scrimmage after a 34-yard completion, and drove 77 yards to go ahead 7-0 on the first of two Joshua Merrill touchdown runs.

Maddie went 4-for-4 for 71 yards on the ensuing drive and also ran twice for 18 yards, capping it with an 8-yard touchdown run to tie the game at 7.

The Eagles took the lead for good with 8:54 left in the second quarter on Maddie’s 27-yard touchdown pass to Chad Beebe.

One play after a 25-yard touchdown pass to Noah Roberts was called back by penalty, Maddie and Beebe connected again on a 29-yard score to give the Eagles a 21-7 halftime lead.

“Our confidence level was still top notch (after falling behind 7-0) and I think that helped us to score the next two series,” Chad Beebe said. “I think at that point they were back on their heels and we just kept taking it to them.”

Maddie finished the first half 12-of-13 for 242 yards. The only way the Hawks stopped him in the second half was by keeping him off the field, which they did with a 14-play, 73-yard scoring drive that ate up 7:20 off the clock followed by a 16-play, 65-yard march that took 6:51.

Those two time-consuming drives brought the Hawks within 28-21 with 7:54 left in the game. Oregon followed by doing something for the first time — holding the Eagles on downs when they stopped Maddie on a 4th-and-4 run — to take possession with a shot at the win.

“You are starting to think about scoring and going for two to win the game in regulation,” Oregon coach John Bothe said. “Unfortunately we couldn’t convert. The plan was to score and go for two.”

Brandon Mayes came up with the key tackle on fourth down for Aurora Christian after a motion penalty had put the Hawks in a 4th-and-6 instead of 4th-and-1. Maddie sealed the game moments later with a 14-yard touchdown run putting the Eagles ahead 34-21 with 1:46 remaining.

“I come off the field tonight even more impressed (with Maddie),” Bothe said. “Not just because of the talent but the toughness and the fact when the chips were down he was the last guy standing for them.”

Chad Beebe was Maddie’s favorite target with 10 catches for 161 yards. Cory Windle caught 4 passes for 111 yards including a 49-yard touchdown in the third quarter.

Nice numbers for sure, but it was Maddie’s 19-22 for 381 that left the biggest impression. The Western Michigan recruit upped his season numbers to 44 passing touchdowns, 11 rushing touchdowns and over 3,200 yards passing.

“That is unbelievable,” Don Beebe said. “That is Aaron Rodgers stuff. I’ve got to hand it to him because he not only beat them with his arm, he beat you with his legs again. He’s a special player. He was so accurate with his throws. It’s the best I’ve seen any high school quarterback throw in a high school game.”

Images: Aurora Christian vs. Oregon 3A football playoffs

  Aurora Christian’s Chad Beebe picks up some yardage after a catch at Oregon during playoff football on Friday night. Patrick Kunzer/pkunzer@dailyherald.com
  Aurora Christian’s Cory Windle hauls in a pass in front of Oregon’s Josh Egyed at Oregon during playoff football on Friday night. Patrick Kunzer/pkunzer@dailyherald.com
  Aurora Christian head coach Don Beebe addresses his team after a playoff victory at Oregon on Friday night. Patrick Kunzer/pkunzer@dailyherald.com
Patrick Kunzer/pkunzer@dailyherald.comAurora Christian quarterback Anthony Maddie looks for an option at Oregon during playoff football on Friday night.
Patrick Kunzer/pkunzer@dailyherald.comAurora Christian Eagles raise their helmets in victory at Oregon during playoff football on Friday night.
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