St. Charles N. 21, Thornton Fractional N. 13
It could have been a completely different outcome for St. Charles North if it hadn't caught a break with under a minute to go at halftime.
That turned out to be one of the game's biggest momentum busters.
After Thornton Fractional North punter Rafael Alvarado pinned the North Stars at the 1-yard line with 40 seconds remaining until halftime, it appeared St. Charles North would run one play and let time expire with each team feeling good about their chances in the second half.
Then mayhem broke loose. The North Stars fumbled the ball and gave the Meteors first down inside the 2-yard line.
But T.F. North fumbled the ball itself on the first play and got stuffed running inside the tackles on the next play as the horn sounded.
St. Charles North made the Meteors pay in the second half. The North Stars, who were held to just 93 yards rushing in the first half, broke loose in the third and fourth quarters with 157 yards on the ground while holding T.F.
North to 21 yards as it went on to win the road game, 21-13, on Friday night in the teams' first ever meeting.
The Meteors rushed for 130 yards in the first half.
Coach Mark Gould said his defensive coordinator Jared McCall lit a match under his guys at halftime.
"He did all the talking to them. I didn't have to say a word to them. He did all the talking to them," Gould said. "Basically, it was our linemen had to come off the blocks quicker and the linebackers had to meet (their running backs).
"Towards the end of the game, (T.F. North) got a second wind. They've got some good athletes and they made some good plays. Our defense came out after halftime and did a really nice job. That was a big thing."
T.F. North coach Rodney Lacy agreed that his team could have changed the tide of the game if his team popped it in from two yards out before halftime.
"We had the ball with 34 seconds left and we get two plays off," he said.
"There was some confusion on the snap (and we fumbled but) they are high school kids so it happens. "You can't blame a game on that one possession.
But it definitely turns the tide. That gives our kids a boost at halftime.
With that 14-7 lead, we could have had a little boost.
Instead, St. Charles North rode the momentum and put together a long drive in the third quarter. The possession didn't conclude with a score but the ground work was laid for the final quarter.
That's when Kyle Harmon, who rushed for a team-high 112 yards, finally broke loose with a 54-yard run that set up his own 5-yard touchdown on a counter play to the left side.
After a defensive stop, the North Stars added an insurance TD when Nic Higgins ran the ball in from 6 yards out with three minutes remaining.
Sean Sullivan's third extra point of the night gave the team a 21-7 lead.
St. Charles needed it too.
T.F. North put together a scoring drive that covered 70 yards in under two minutes. After failing to recover their own onside kick, the Meteors got the ball back when Harmon fumbled the ball as he was going to the ground following a 9-yard carry.
But the Meteors would run out of downs on their final possession.
Hampshire 47, Rockford Lutheran 0: The Hampshire Whip-Purs tasted defeat last week. Apparently, they didn't like the taste. Determined to avoid a second helping, the Whips put in a solid week of practice and came out fired up against visiting Rockford Lutheran.
The determined Whip-Purs rolled to a 47-0 halftime lead, then coasted to a 47-14 victory in a Big Northern crossover Friday night in Hampshire.
Trace Teboda accounted for 4 touchdowns for Hampshire (3-1). He ran for 2 scores, returned an interception for another, and threw a 45-yard scoring pass to T.J. Burzak.
Joe Moore, James Goebbert and Rob Tiojanco also scored for the Whips.
"All of us, we were just blown away," said Teboda of the Week 3 loss to Genoa-Kingston. "We don't like losing, and especially by that many points. (This week) we came out and practiced really hard, and I think that's why we won this week. We stayed focused, we knew our jobs, and we executed them."
Hampshire racked up 314 rushing yards, with 9 different players carrying the ball. Fullback Moore led the way with 65 yards on 7 carries, all in the first quarter.
No matter who carried, Hampshire's offensive line blew the defenders off the line of scrimmage to open big holes.
Moore's 39-yard run on the Whips' first play from scrimmage set up their first score. Moore finished the drive with a 5-yard run.
Goebbert finished with 55 yards, including a 14-yard TD on the Whips' second possession. Teboda and Evan Brenner ran for 40 yards apiece.
"They weren't happy about last week," said Hampshire coach Dan Cavanaugh. "They came out and played hard. I thought it was a good overall performance. We were able to run the ball, throw the ball, and play some defense."
Already leading 20-0 after Burzak's score, the Whips scored 3 times in less than 3 minutes to blow the game wide open.
Tiojanco's 1-yard run capped a 55-yard drive. On the Crusaders' next play, Teboda stepped in front of a Jacob Koehler pass and raced 35 yards up the sideline to the end zone. The Crusaders fumbled away the ensuing kickoff, and Hampshire quickly drove for another score. Teboda scrambled the final 14 yards.
Teboda added his third touchdown on the final play of the first half.
With the clock running and Hampshire playing exclusively reserves, the Crusaders rallied for a pair of second-half touchdowns.
-- Allen Oshinski
Barrington 36, Wheeling 18: Barrington's defense set the table in the third quarter, and the offense feasted.
The Broncos expanded an 11-6 halftime edge to 29-6 through three quarters, thanks to an interception and 2 fumble recoveries. On each occasion, the Broncos scored, and they held on for a 36-18 Mid-Suburban League crossover football victory at Wheeling Friday.
J.C. Stickney, who also caught a touchdown pass among his 4 receptions, intercepted Wheeling quarterback Matt Holmes on the Broncos' own 21 yard line. Four plays later, Sam Ojuri scored on the first of 2 long touchdown runs, a 64-yard burst, to give the Broncos (3-1) a 17-6 lead with 7:42 left in the quarter.
"That interception was absolutely huge," said Barrington coach Joe Sanchez. "They had the momentum, and if they scored, I don't know what would have happened. Then, turning it into points was even bigger."
On the ensuing kickoff return, Jason Taylor fell on a fumble on Wheeling's 12. Four plays later, Stickney hauled in a 4-yard scoring pass from Cody Seeger to give the Broncos a 23-6 lead.
Holmes (18-for-28 for 220 yards passing) guided the Wildcats (2-2) to the Barrington 12 yard line, where the drive stalled when Andrew Cobb recovered an Abel Rangel fumble on fourth-and-1.
On Barrington's second play, Ojuri (5 carries, 147 yards and 3 touchdowns) broke loose again, this time for 70 yards and the touchdown, giving the visitors a 29-6 lead.
"It was the same play both times," said Ojuri, who scored each time he touched the ball in the second half. "J.C. Stickney had a great block on the first one, and Stickney and (Kevin) Crowley on the second."
"The big thing about our offense is that it has so many weapons," said Seeger (8 carries, 97 yards), who opened the scoring with a 57-yard touchdown option run in the first quarter. "When we watched the film, we knew that (option) would be a huge play for us."
Rangel's 17-yard run four minutes after Seeger scored cut the margin to 8-6 before Ryan Murach's 20-yard field goal made it 11-6 with 1:05 left in the first.
Ojuri's last TD, a 2-yard run with 6:58 left in the game, gave Barrington a 36-6 lead, but Wheeling didn't play out the string.
Holmes put together two scoring drives, both ending in touchdown passes of 2 and 5 yards to James Kurtz (12 receptions, 114 yards).
"Our guys played with a lot of heart," Wheeling coach Dave Dunbar said. "We were right there, 11-6 at halftime. Mistakes, especially that fumble really hurt us."
-- Larry Weindruch
Boys soccer
Prairie Ridge 9, Belvidere 2: Prairie Ridge (2-8) opened up its own Tournament with this big 9-2 win over Belvidere for a second consecutive win.
With a complete team effort, the Wolves had goals from Marcelo Jorge, Alex Saucious, Zach Piekarski, Zach Dennis, Ryan McCarty, Bret Ramirez, Andrew Shadel, Jason Bhatta and Mitch MacArthur. Jorge assisted two goals, and additional assists came from Dennis, Sam Poli, Jesus Rubi and Brandon Pappas.
In goal, Elkan Meyer tallied 2 saves.
Westminster Christian and Schaumburg Christian tie: Westminster Christian (3-4-3) got it's third tie of the season in a game that ended at 1-1 against Schaumburg Christian. Jeff Marshall had Westminster only goal unassisted. Ethan Flickinger was in the goal for Westminster Christian and collected 10 saves.
Men's soccer
Ohio Dominican 1, Judson 0: Ohio Dominican (5-0) scored within the first two minutes of the game to defeat Judson (4-2-1) during action at the Judson Tournament.
Neil Thompson was in goal for the Eagles and recorded 3 saves.