CL Central 35, Dundee-Crown 28

Dundee-Crown's defense went fishing Friday night, and the little fish they found was Niemo. Yet, the Chargers couldn't snag Anthony Niemo or the big fish, Anthony Degani, in a 35-28 loss to Crystal Lake Central in a Fox Valley Conference crossover game at the D-C Bowl.

CL Central's main two weapons, Degani and Niemo, scored every touchdown in the game for the Tigers. With the score tied at 21 late in the third quarter, Niemo's second score, a 34-yard run down the sideline, put the Tigers ahead 28-21. The Tigers wouldn't relinquish the lead even when the Chargers looked to climb back as they did earlier in the game.

On the Tigers' 10, Matt Cutinello, who ran for 120 yards, was looking to tie the game on his dash towards the end zone, but Cutinello lost the football. The fumble led to the eventual game winning 56 yard score by Fullback Anthony Degani, giving the Tigers the 35-21 lead.

Degani's performance was one to remember. The fullback ran for 241 yards on the ground and 3 touchdowns to lead his team to victory. His counterpart, Niemo, didn't have that bad of a night either. Niemo couldn't match Degani's 241, but came at the Chargers' defense with 147 yards of his own on the ground with 2 touchdowns. The only bright spot besides Dundee-Crown's efforts all game to keep Central on its heels was Cutinello's 2-yard run in the first, the Chargers' first and only lead of the game.

"We punted twice, we fumbled down there. You can't stop a team from running the ball down your throat," said Chargers coach Mike Davis. "Our kids kept playing hard, kept coming back and didn't give up. They run their offense very well."

Jon McLaughlin, who took over 3 years ago, has Central undefeated for the first time since 1997. Even when the Chargers (1-2) seemed to threaten, McLaughin found a way to calm his team down even as the Chargers looked to come back.

"I told them, don't panic. they're going to make a mistake, and they fumbled the ball."