Oct. 04--The 71-game streak was 71 seconds from being a thing of the past.
With 1 minute, 11 seconds left on the clock and no timeouts remaining, Brian Collis marched Maine South 80 yards to force overtime, and the Hawks outlasted Glenbrook South 34-31 on Friday night to extend their Central Suburban South winning streak to an amazing 72 games.
Six times in the past 12 years, Glenbrook South has led Maine South at halftime, according to Maine South coach David Inserra, but it was the first time the Hawks trailed in the final minute.
A week after the streak that dates all the way to 2001 almost ended, the Hawks' will face what could be their toughest test in years, a road game against No. 20 New Trier (6-0, 2-0).
For once, unranked Maine South will play a ranked team as the likely underdog.
"It was nice to have this game against Glenbrook South the week before (New Trier)," Inserra said. "It sets up not only the competitiveness we will need, but a little more speed, a little more toughness every minute and every down."
Plagued at times by interceptions, Collis should be brimming with confidence following what Inserra called the signature moment of his three-year career.
Collis threw for 168 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter and overtime as the Hawks overcame a 28-14 deficit with 10 minutes remaining.
His 21-yard TD pass to Ryan Gibbons cut the Titans' lead to 28-21 with 8:26 left, and a 5-yarder to Fotis Kokosioulis with 19.3 seconds showing forced OT.
Glenbrook South kicked a field goal on the first possession of overtime, "which we were fine with because we had momentum on our side," Inserra said.
Kokosioulis won it for the Hawks with a 2-yard run.
"There was no panic by anybody," Inserra said. "We don't talk about the streak, but we do emphasize history, which the streak is a part of. The guys were very excited because of the circumstances. It was an incredible comeback we made. It's up there with our best ever."
Always prepared: How does a defense which allowed 68 points to teams in less-competitive divisions of the Catholic League the previous two weeks shut down mighty Mount Carmel's vaunted option?
"Our scout team has been running the Mount Carmel offense since July," Brother Rice quarterback Cam Miller said after his team's 31-14 upset of No. 3 Mount Carmel on Friday night.
"We spend a lot of time on that," Brother Rice coach Brian Badke said. "When you play for the Catholic League title, you know you're going to have to beat Mount Carmel."
No. 15 Brother Rice (5-1, 1-1) and Mount Carmel (5-1, 2-1) are both alive for the Catholic Blue title -- a third of it anyway.
Second-ranked Loyola (6-0, 2-0) is alone in first place following its 31-7 victory against Providence on Friday night, but Mount Carmel can forge a two- or three-way tie with a victory at Loyola in Week 9.
Brother Rice, which shared the Blue title with Providence last year, needs to beat Providence in Week 8 to remain in the hunt.
Offense buoys first-place Vikings: St. Laurence has put up 70 points twice this season and really served notice by drawing even with Brother Rice in the fourth quarter of a 52-35 loss last week.
The Vikings made their biggest statement yet Friday by scoring one for the smaller Catholic White with a 49-35 victory against defending Catholic Green champion St. Francis.
Junior Fayezon Smart rushed for more than 200 yards for the third straight week, finishing with 252 and five TDs on 30 carries.
At 4-2 and 2-0 in the Catholic White, the Vikings are alone in first place, and seven regular-season wins would be their most since 1991.
Mike Helfgot is a freelance reporter for the Chicago Tribune.
