Aurora Christian 35, St. Edward 33
Aurora Christian quarterback Jordan Roberts is well known as an offensive weapon and he did little to hurt that reputation against St. Edward.
Roberts threw for 3 touchdowns and, showing a new wrinkle, ran the option to perfection on a 30-yard touchdown run.
But Roberts' biggest play in this game came on the defensive side of the ball as he forced a fumble late in the game that was recovered by teammate Peter Kariotis and secured a 35-33 non-conference victory for the Eagles (2-0) Friday night at East Aurora.
"They just threw me in there on defense and I saw the play going outside and, honestly, I wasn't even thinking about stripping the ball," said Roberts. "I'm not even sure what happened. It came out really late, but it turned out great."
That defensive play was one of very few on a night where neither defense did much to stop the other team. Both teams had nearly 400 yards in offense and did more stopping of themselves with turnovers, 7 combined, and penalties, 19 combined for 155 yards.
St. Edward's first score came on an interception return by Jimmy Mathisen but Roberts came right back with a fade to Michael Friend just a minute and half later that tied the game at 7.
Eagles linebacker Dan Hill recovered a fumble on the next drive that Roberts turned into a 7-point lead three plays later on a TD pass to Joe Redmond.
Matt Morse was the next recipient of a Robert's TD pass, with a 9-yard scoring grab that was one of 9 catches on the night for the sophomore.
"Matt Morse, he's an amazing sophomore," said Aurora Christian coach Don Beebe. "Every time I was just calling his number because he was hot, they couldn't stop Matt."
The teams traded touchdowns the rest of the night with neither team ever having more than a one-score lead until the Eagles gambled and went for a 2-point conversion that John Smith was able to run into the end zone to push the lead to 35-26.
St. Edward (0-2) took another tough loss, its 22nd in a row, and unfortunately there were a few too may mistakes to come away with a victory. The Green Wave got a 185-yard performance from senior Matt Ardiente that included a 68-yard TD burst, and three rushing touchdowns from Moises Qiroga. But four turnovers and a dozen penalties were too much to overcome.
"We were that close again," said St. Edward coach Mike Rolando. "Any one of those mistakes and key plays could have been the difference in the game. But the kids played with a tremendous amount of heart. I'm disappointed for them because they want to win so badly. We're all proud of them but close isn't good enough anymore, they want to win."
"In my four years coaching, they played with as much heart as any team we have ever played against," said Beebe.