Nov. 09--Click on the score for full coverage from Chicago Tribune Media Group newspapers.
New Trier 28, Curie 27 (OT)
The OT began with New Trier sophomore Clay Czyzynski finding Scott Hammes for the senior wide receiver's fourth touchdown reception of the game, and for the fourth time junior Nick Endre booted the extra point.
The Condors answered with a 3-yard score by junior Chris Baldwin to make it 28-27, and they decided to try to win the game with a two-point conversion. New Trier junior Colin Casas hit Curie QB Mike Goldsmith as he threw, and the pass fell to the turf harmlessly.
-Eric Van Dril, Wilmette Life
Lemont 35, Yorkville 14
Quarterback Ryan Dawson finished 14-for-20 for 172 yards and four TDs, adding 17- and 18-yard scoring strikes to Duke-bound receiver Flynn Nagel (4 catches, 58 yards) in the second half.
Still, Lemont coach Bret Kooi was less than pleased with his team's offensive effort.
"When we play our best football, it could be real scary for opposing defenses," Nagel said. "It wasn't that we weren't prepared. We just had too many mental mistakes that we can correct."
Lemont freshman Anthony Martin finished with 101 rushing yards on 21 carries. His 16-yard TD run in the first quarter opened the scoring.
- Tim O'Brien, SouthtownStar
Homewood-Flossmoor 42, Edwardsville 35
A fake punt, a six-minute drive and a double dose of twin running backs turned a track meet into a football game and sent Homewood-Flossmoor to the Class 8A quarterfinals.
H-F rode twins Devonte and Deante Harley-Hampton to a 42-35 second-round win over the bracket's second-seeded team, Edwardsville. The Vikings are in the quarterfinals for the second straight year and third time in four seasons.
The lead changed hands four times in the first half. But the Vikings turned to the Harley-Hampton twins for 30 of 35 offensive plays in the second half to grind down the clock and put the brakes on Edwardsville's attack.
-Todd Eschman, Southtown Star
Mount Carmel 24, Belleville West 6
Two plays proved momentous in Mount Carmel's victory Saturday over Belleville West in the second round of the Class 7A playoffs.
The first came on defense, when the Caravan stuffed the Maroons on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line. The second came moments later on offense, when tailback Anthony Ries turned a possible one-yard loss into a 53-yard touchdown run that put the Caravan comfortably ahead 17-6 late in the third quarter.
"A.J. Lewis, the other running back, peeled the guy right off him," Mount Carmel coach Frank Lenti said of West's would-be tackler on Ries' TD run that culminated a four-play, 92-yard drive. "We try to teach our running backs, 'You should be insulted if you're tackled by one guy,' and that's kind of how they played (Saturday)."
Ries finished with 22 carries for 239 yards and two TDs, while Lewis had 20 carries for 124 yards as the Caravan (7-4) advanced to the quarterfinals against Lincoln-Way East (10-1).
-David Wilhelm, SouthtownStar
Richards 34, Lincoln-Way West 27
Hasan Muhammad-Rogers celebrated his 18th birthday Saturday by producing one of the most unforgettable performances of the season.
The senior quarterback completed 16 of 23 passes for 395 yards and five touchdowns to lead Richards past host Lincoln-Way West in a Class 7A second-round thriller.
The third-seed Bulldogs (10-1) advance to the quarterfinals and will play the winner between Yorkville and Lemont.
"It's the best birthday ever," Muhammad-Rogers said. "I get to spend another week with my team."
-Pat Disabato, SouthtownStar
Geneseo 41, Rich East 16
Rich East (7-4) scored twice in the third quarter against the Geneseo second defensive team, but the running clock was against them as the Maple Leafs (11-0) carried a 41-0 lead into halftime. The first score came on an end-around play that saw Tyler McGregory scamper into the end zone with 7:14 left in the quarter. The other score was from Brian Stewart, a 1-yard run up the gut of the Geneseo defense.
Stewart rushed for a team-high 68 yards on 12 carries.
-Anthony Sandoval, SouthtownStar
Geneva 26, Rockton Hononegah 20
Geneva quarterback Daniel Santacaterina had to feel fortunate after Saturday's 26-20 win over Hononegah in the second round of the IHSA Class 7A playoffs.
The senior's third touchdown pass of the game, a 4-yard toss to fullback Max Woodworth five seconds into the fourth quarter, had given his team a seemingly comfortable 26-7 lead.
Two Hononegah scores sandwiched around a successful onsides kick followed by the QB's second lost fumble gave the Indians the ball at the Geneva 33 with plenty of time to drive for the winning score.
On both turnovers, it appeared as though one of his offensive linemen may have stepped on his foot, forcing Santacaterina to stumble as he began dropping back.
"I'm not sure what happened," he said. "We're gonna figure it out. It was a bad situation, I guess, but we got a W. In playoff football, it's win or go home and we're moving on."
They are, thanks largely to a Matthew Loberg sack on third-and-15 that followed a holding penalty on the Indians. Then, Brock Perry sealed it with an interception of Dakota Chandler's pass with 1:19 on fourth-and-17.
Rick Armstrong, Aurora Beacon-News
Nazareth 45, King 8
Nazareth defensive line coach Joe Battaglia holds the keys to the "Kingdom."
While the Roadrunners' high-powered offense grabs most of the headlines, Battaglia believes the defense should also get some credit for the first undefeated regular season in school history.
In top-seeded Nazareth's victory Saturday against ninth-seeded King in the second round of the 6A playoffs at Gately Stadium in Chicago, Battaglia used at least 13 different players on the defensive line. Nazareth (11-0) scored the game's first 45 points before handing the defense over to reserve players early in the third quarter.
-George M. Wilcox, The Doings Weekly
Coal City 25, St. Edward 20
With Jack Dibble rushing 40 times for 304 yards and four touchdowns, Coal City scored a 25-20 victory to end St. Edward's season at 10-1 and advance to the quarterfinals against conference rival Manteno.
"They were just too big for us -- they were big dudes," St. Edward coach Mike Rolando said. "Our kids tried their hardest, played great, but (Coal City) just brought a little too much."
St. Edward overcame deficits of 7-0 and 19-14 to lead 20-19 starting the fourth quarter behind the passing of quarterback Joe Mullen, who connected on nine straight passes during a second-half stretch and finished 15-of-28 for 194 yards with two touchdowns. But Coal City's Dibble rushed for 223 of his yards in the second half to lead the Coalers (9-2) back from 14-7 and 20-19 deficits.
-Gene Champerlain, Courier-News
Cary-Grove 35, St. Charles North 14
Offensive linemen Michael Gomez, Notre Dame-bound Trevor Ruhland, Scotty Topole, P.J. Bardgett and Owen Henriques have opened holes and blocked well all year for their backfield.
"It was definitely a competitive game and (St. Charles North) made us earn everything we got today," Cary-Grove coach Brad Seaburg said. "Great effort and like we told the guys, we're one of eight right now and we're hosting a quarterfinal next week."
The win sends the top-seeded Trojans to a state quarterfinal against No. 4 Geneva, a 26-20 winner over No. 5 Hononegah on Saturday.
-Gary Larsen, Courier-News
Lake Forest 42, Glenbard South 28
Lake Forest (8-3), which is seeded No. 13, will now face top-seeded Nazareth (11-0) in the quarterfinals. It's the third season in a row that the Scouts have reached the quarterfinals.
Lake Forest fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter but scored 35 unanswered points and then held off a furious comeback by fifth-seeded Glenbard South (8-3).
When we face adversity, we just have to believe in ourselves, play hard and everything will work out in the end," linebacker Jack Traynor said. "I told the team to stay positive and we'd be fine. [The deficit] didn't change my intensity at all. I just kept playing hard and tried to make plays."
-Ken Ryan, Lake County News-Sun
St. Francis 39, Lakes 36
Credit quarterback Clint Bobowski (19-of-32 passing, 235 yards, 4 TDs) and St. Francis' defensive unit for triggering the late-game heroics that turned a 36-26 deficit into a victory for the Spartans (9-2).
After junior Izayah James' (23 carries, 147 yards, 2 TDs) 33-yard TD run gave Lakes the 10-point lead with 6:03 to play, Bobowski went to work. Actually, he went to work after Lakes' surprise onside kick -- which completely surprised the visitors -- somehow wound with a Spartan recovery.
A 28-yard completion to Michael Shaw (5 catches on the day, 2 for scores) and a Lakes penalty for pass interference led to a 13-yard scoring pass from Bobowski to Shaw that made it 36-33 with 5:31 left.
Lakes then went three-and-out, which was key as St. Francis then started the decisive drive on its own 36 with 3:53 left.
Bobowski completed passes of 28 and 21 yards, and capped the drive when, on third-and-goal, he hit Shaw with a 5-yard TD pass and the 39-36 lead with 1:28 left.
-Bryan Bonato, Lake County News-Sun
Fenwick 31, Carmel 14
For the fourth time in school history, Fenwick's football team is headed to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs.
Fenwick ran the ball 54 times for 221 yards and three touchdowns. Defensively, the Friars held the Corsairs to just 166 total yards.
"We had a chip on our shoulder tonight," Fenwick coach Gene Nudo said. "We knew we hadn't played our best the past several weeks. But these kids exceeded my expectations. Both our offensive and defensive lines got off the ball in a hurry, and it was a major factor in the outcome."
-Tim Froehlig, Lake County News-Sun
