THE SCHILKE WAY: No. 1 Fillmore overcomes game-long multitude of adversity, net 3 goals in last 5 minutes to earn 3rd D1 Finals berth in 4 years in shutout of No. 4 Keshequa

PERRY — Not very often this season has there been an opportunity for Fillmore to meet adversity square in the face. Through thick and thin, the Eagles have been resilient in every single battle they have been a part of.

17 games up. 17 games down.

Class D1’s top seed found themselves two more giant steps away from glory once again, and although it’s been one smooth ride, Fillmore ran into their first traffic jam of the year on the soccer interstate highway — No. 4 Keshequa, their opposition from their Class D1 Finals appearance back during the COVID-stricken 2020 campaign.

Almost every emotion that you can think of was expressed and displayed in some way during certain points of Tuesday’s battle in Perry between the Indians and Eagles. To name a few: Hopefulness, dissatisfaction, frustration, most of which effected the top seeds throughout the course of the evening, as Keshequa was able to successfully hold a red-hot offense capable of taking complete command, at an overwhelming standstill.

The Indians had control of the game in the palm of their hands, forcing them to work from the inside out all night long while coercing Fillmore into a rare position that they hadn’t seen all season — a magnitude of immense duress, causing multiple turnovers back the other way on defense for the team in white and orange.

It became increasingly difficult for the Eagles to work their way through, as time went on. But at the same time, the defense held its own by keeping Keshequa away from cashing in any opportunities they may have had a chance to record. For the longest time on the board, there was no score.

With overtime on the horizon, and time soon becoming the biggest factor in play, both teams had to act quickly. As Glenn Frey would say: “The heat is on.”

With Keshequa stacking everything up against the Eagles on both ends of the pitch, the top seeds continued to fight back, whittling away more and more. Much to the extent where it would perhaps create a turning point with under 10 minutes remaining, after what seemed to be the game’s icebreaker, was not meant to be.

But instead of adversity continuing to shroud around the Eagles despite the missed chance, they used it as a bargaining chip for the remainder of the homestretch. It was at that point that Fillmore had pushed their chips to the center of the table. All or nothing.

One of the moments early on in the first half was a discussion between assistant coach Jordan Mullen, and Fillmore junior Eben Schilke. The biggest piece of his advice that the coach offered one of his big offensive playmakers — go and be The Man.

With minimal time left to work with, Eben Schilke was indeed him.

Like the lyrics in the self-titled hit by The Killers, Schilke had a plan and knew the direction in the lay of the land. He knew the score like the back of his hand. On a play that began with a Layton Sanasith pass across the field deep in the Indians zone, the ball would work counterclockwise to him with Zach Sisson being the last to dish along his helper on a wide-open play in the slot, letting his shot roll into the net next to the right post with 5:29 left to play to get the Eagles onto the board.

Once that first goal was on the board, another one of those feelings can be felt all around the Eagles — relief.

That wasn’t all either.

Schilke opened up the door, and then Mitch Ward slammed it shut on the Indians.

To help finish off the team’s third trip to the Class D1 Finals in four seasons, the Fillmore senior went on a shopping spree by removing all doubt and removing all of the adversity that there was left to overcome, running the table by scoring two more goals in 35 seconds to capture the jackpot in one of the most explosive and emphatic ends to a game this season — a 3-0 shutout to send Keshequa home packing.

“I told them that this kind of game was going to be the best thing for us,” said Eagles coach Jarrett Vosburg. “You don’t get better by playing bad teams. Keshequa was a phenomenal opponent, and they battled all night long. You can’t say enough about the game they were able to give us. On a night where things were not quite clicking well for us offensively, we were still able to find a way and get the job done. It showed us that we can win in different ways, and that’s what happened tonight.”

You could say that across the 80 minute contest that both teams have had a multitude of chances come and go on the offensive side of the spectrum. The vast majority of which stemmed from the Eagles (18-0) in the early stages, with the best of opportunities perhaps coming from Ward off a corner kick just past halfway in the first half, leaping up higher than the rest of the bodies in front of the Keshequa goal to put a decisive head on the ball.

But the shot took a hard bounce off the turf and sailed skywards, overtop the crossbar and out of harm's way for the Indians.

From that point forward, the game would lay in the hands of No. 4 seeds. The Eagles would then find their outside lanes sealed shut by an aggressive and relentless defensive pressure from the Indians, forcing them to try and work from the inside out. As a result, the Indians coerced the Eagles into turning the ball over multiple times, as well as several other miscues to throw them off-kilter.

Although the Indians were able to successfully stymie the Eagles, Fillmore would do the same in return in their defensive zone, foiling any developing rushes their opposition would provide back the other way themselves.

Hence, a scoreless first half of play.

“We’ve been preaching all night to try and get the ball to the corner, and it just wasn’t opening up for us,” Vosburg said. “Give them a lot of credit for putting us under as much duress as possible in the middle of the field, and forcing us to turn the ball over. I’m really proud of the way they were able to respond to it late in the second half, and how they were able to overcome this adversity through it all.”

For much of the second half, it was the same story for the Indians, as they kept the Eagles under an extravagant amount of duress with the pressure beginning to boil over even more. As time continued to tick away at regulation, with under 10 minutes left to play, the time to act was now for the top seeds.

And what a time to strike it was.

After their first original attempt to score was denied by the Indians defense, the Eagles made sure a few transitions later, that the door would bust open as Sanasith’s cross-field pass worked its way around the top of the 18 until the ball landed on the foot of Sisson, where he was able to hand off to a wide-open Schilke in front of him in the slot, firing off a huge shot to the near post and in with under six minutes left to finally crack the ice.

That wasn’t the only time the Eagles were able to finally reach the back of the net. Just two minutes later, Mitch Ward had something to say.

One of Section V’s leading scorers made his presence known with not one, but two humongous pieces of insurance in a span of 35 seconds finding the back of the Keshequa net — both on breakways from the Indians defense, as Sanasith and Henry Sardina both sent along incredible passes up the field to set up the goals, branching the lead out just as quick as they broke the ice to remain in the front seat for good.

“Schilk, he’s a great young junior. He’s a great kid, and he had a rough first half. He would even agree, and I am so proud of the way he was able to respond in the second half by finally getting us on the board,” said Vosburg. “It’s a testament to his grit, character and his ability to battle his way through adversity. Keshequa made it their mission to keep Mitch off the scoresheet. They almost did, but he’s the type of kid that will never give up, and never quit. He always finds ways, so it was really awesome to see him get his share at a crucial time in the game.”

Fillmore would go on to outshoot Keshequa by an 11-4 count, with Luke Colombo making all four saves to earn the clutch shutout in between the posts.

The Eagles are now off to their third Class D1 Final in four years, as they get set to square off with No. 2 Harley Allendale-Columbia for all of the marbles right back in Perry on Friday, beginning at 7:30 p.m.

The Class D2 Finals between No. 2 Houghton Academy and No. 1 Mount Morris will get underway to kick off the doubleheader first, at 5 p.m.

“Every game we’ve said from here on out, it was going to be a battle just like this,” Vosburg said. “We have to show up and put our best foot forward, and see what happens with it. We have a great crew here, and I could not be any more proud of their effort tonight. If we can keep the mindset of putting that foot forward correctly, we can take care of business like I know we can.”