Wrapup: St. Charles East, Hampshire win
For one night, St. Charles East's balanced offensive attack was just a little better than Neuqua Valley's human highlight show.
Senior quarterback Sam Gunther completed 15-of-29 passes for 158 yards, with 121 of those yards coming in the second half, while Chris Caci (11 carries, 87 yards) and backfield mate Wes Allen (22 carries, 80 yards) split the rushing chores during the Saints' 17-14 homecoming victory over the Wildcats Friday night at Norris Stadium.
While inching closer to an Upstate Eight Conference title, the Saints (5-1, 4-0) also snapped a 4-year losing skid against the 3-time defending
conference champion Wildcats (2-4, 2-2).
Neuqua Valley had outscored the Saints by a lopsided 125-39 margin from 2003-06.
"I don't know if this is our Super Bowl," said Saints coach Ted Monken, "but this is our nemesis. Two years in a row, the conference championship has come down to our game. It's really nice to finally get over that hump."
Throughout the majority of the first half, the Saints once again were forced with an uphill climb.
An interception and 40-yard return by senior linebacker Britt Andros helped set up the Wildcats' first touchdown --ˆ a 1-yard run by Anton Wilkins midway
through the second quarter.
With 21 seconds left in the first half, Gunther bought some time with a nifty play-action fake before tossing a 3-yard TD strike to sophomore tight end Jess Striedl. David Winn's PAT kick gave the Saints a 7-6 halftime advantage.
St. Charles East rode the momentum into the opening series of the second half, driving 47 yards on 12 plays before Winn's 35-yard field goal upped the margin to 10-6.
Caci, whose 46-yard run helped set up the Saints' first touchdown, scored the team's second TD -- on a 1-yard run with 8:56 remaining in the fourth quarter to make it 17-6.
The double-digit lead lasted all of 14 seconds, as Wilkins raced 96 yards for a touchdown with the ensuing kickoff, and a 2-point conversion pass from Alex Lincoln to Michael Camire helped the Wildcats close the gap to 17-14.
"It gave us a lot of life," Wildcats coach Bryan Wells said of Wilkins' electrifying return.
However, an interception by defensive back Tom Kuebel on a 4th-and-10 play inside Saints territory with 1:58 remaining effectively snuffed out Neuqua Valley's comeback bid.
"The offense did a good job and the defense did even better," said Saints receiver Matt Hammer, who finished with 10 catches for 128 yards --ˆ with 108 yards coming in the second half.
Wilkins, meanwhile, provided the bulk of the Wildcats' offense with 165 yards rushing on 31 carries as well as the 96-yard kick return. He was in on more than 70 percent (31-of-44) of Neuqua Valley's offensive plays from scrimmage.
"I'd use the heck out of him, too," said Monken. "He's a great back." While the Saints have their sights set on a conference championship, the Wildcats will be playing for the postseason lives the next three weeks while trying to bounce back from their third loss by 4 or less points this season.
"I've tried not to think about that because I'll drive myself crazy," said Wells. "A handful of plays and we'd be here with one loss. It's not where we're at though."
Harvard 26, Hampshire 13: Gang tackling is great unless someone in the gang actually makes the tackle.
Hampshire played host Harvard to a 7-7 standstill into the third quarter of their Big Northern East showdown Friday, but two long runs that could have been stopped for short gains made all the difference in Harvard's 26-13 victory at Dan Horne Field.
The Hampshire defense had limited the prolific Harvard running game to 23 first-half yards and was holding its own against the Hornets in the third quarter. Then Hornets running back James Matteson got shifty.
Harvard had the ball at its own 43-yard line in a 7-7 game when Matteson took a pitch to the left, waited for blocking, made two tacklers miss, cut back and raced 50 yards to the Hampshire 7-yard line.
Hampshire's Evan Brenner saved a touchdown and the Whip-Pur defense held, forcing Ernesto Ramos to nail a 28-yard field goal that gave Harvard a 10-7 lead with 2:18 left in the third quarter.
The Hornets (5-1, 2-0) intercepted Trace Teboda's next pass at the Hampshire 27-yard line, but again the Whip-Pur defense stood tall, forcing Harvard to turn the ball over on downs at the Hampshire 11-yard line.
"I thought we played physical ball with a physical football team," Hampshire coach Dan Cavanaugh said. "I was happy with our defense especially."
But the Whips couldn't generate any offense on its next possession and a short punt gave Harvard the ball back in great field position at the Hampshire 37-yard line.
Two plays later Matteson took a pitch to the left side, waited patiently for two pulling linemen to move downfield ahead of him, then darted out of a pile of bodies and into the open for a 42-yard touchdown. Ramos' extra point gave Harvard a 17-7 lead with 8:55 left in the game.
"It's frustrating," Hampshire linebacker Joe Moore said. "We've got to wrap up when we're tackling. That was the difference in the ballgame. We made adjustments and they weren't doing much against us, but (Matteson) just slipped through somehow."
Matteson rushed scored twice and ran for 133 yards, 118 of them in the second half.
Hampshire didn't give itself a chance to get back in the game. The Whip-Purs (4-2, 1-1) fumbled the exchange on their next play from scrimmage and Mac McCormick recovered for Harvard at the Hampshire 18-yard line. The Whips lost the turnover battle 3-0.
Jimmy Cradic scored 4 plays later on a second effort from 3 yards out to put Harvard ahead 23-7 with 7:32 to play.
Hampshire cut the deficit to 23-13 with 5:35 remaining on a 1-yard score by Moore that was set up by a 50-yard pass play from Teboda to Brenner. But the onside kick was recovered by Harvard.
The Hornets added a 32-yard field goal from Ramos with 38 seconds to play.
Hampshire's offense was held to 116 yards in the second half, mainly because Harvard took away tight end T.J. Burzak. The senior had 5 catches for 92 yards in the first half, but constant double teaming allowed him to make 1 second-half reception for 6 yards.
"In the first half we were pushing them off the ball and we were doing great, but it just died down in the second half," said Teboda.
-- Jerry Fitzpatrick
Jacobs 16, CL South 7: Most defenses punish quarterbacks.
At 6-foot-2 inches and 205 pounds, Jacobs senior quarterback Kyle Magnuson punishes defenses.
Magnuson bulldozed his way for 107 yards on 15 carries and scored on touchdown runs of 37 and 3 yards to lead the Golden Eagles to a shocking 16-7 victory over previously undefeated and Class 7A No. 3 Crystal Lake South in a Fox Valley Conference Valley Division matchup at the Jacobs Athletic Field Friday night.
It's the second straight year Jacobs has upset an undefeated South team.
Magnuson's 37-TD run was the prime example of how he manhandled the South defense. On a fourth-and-1 play, Magnuson forged through the line and was hit hard by three Gator defenders. He ran over the defenders, broke two more tackles and was able to score to give the Golden Eagles (3-3, 1-1) a 10-0 lead with 9:49 left in the third quarter.
"I just kept my legs moving and was able to bounce to the outside," said Magnuson. "Most of my runs were just reads. I got some great blocks from the offensive line and was able to find the holes. Last year with Dan (Barch) we were able to get some yards on quarterback runs and I thought we could do it again. The line was tremendous."
Jacobs coach Dean Schlueter paid Magnuson the highest compliment.
"That long touchdown run was just all effort," said Schlueter. "It was a simple quarterback sneak and he just ran over people. There is a reason he is a captain. He is a warrior and a winner."
The Gators (5-1, 1-1) came right back after Magnuson's TD run.
Junior Derek Mortensen reached paydirt from 10 yards out with 6:23 remaining In the third quarter. Bryan Nee followed with the extra point kick to cut the deficit to 10-7.
The big play of the drive for Crystal Lake South was a 45-yard pass play from Ian Ormseth to tight end Vince Benedetto.
Jacobs came back on the next drive to extend the lead. A 3-yard TD run by Magnuson, which came on fourth-and-goal from the 3 gave the Golden Eagles a 16-7 lead with 1:44 remaining in the third quarter.
That was the end of the scoring for the night.
The only points in the first half came off the leg of Jacobs kicker Collin Carter, who nailed a field goal from 30 yards with 8:58 left in the first half.
Jacobs, which had 220 yards rushing, also got an 86-yard effort from Darius Bowers on 18 carries.
"They beat us on the offensive and defensive lines," said South coach Jim Stuglis. "We didn't do a good job offensively of creating opportunities. Offensively, it was hit or miss all night. Give Jacobs credit. They are getting better and better every week."
-- Dave Hess
Schaumburg 41, Conant 28: They're referred to as the big-uglies.
And that's supposed to be an affectionate nickname.
Imagine what they'd be called if they didn't do their jobs well.
Fortunately for them, the Schaumburg offensive line performed its job to near perfection during the Saxons' 41-28 comeback victory over Conant at Fuetz Field Friday night.
"I want to give the o-line a shout-out," Schaumburg running back Mick Trimarco said. "They worked their (butts) off in practice. They work real hard. It's making my life easy."
Sure. A lot of what Trimarco did Friday night was aided by a stellar offensive line that dominated at the point of attack, but the Schaumburg running back didn't exactly ease his way through four quarters of football.
His career night did, however, make the Conant defense a bit uneasy while his 276 rushing yards and four touchdowns forced the crazed Cougar homecoming crowd to go home a bit queasy.
"It feels good," he said. "Especially on their homecoming when they're all fired up. It proves that we can bring it to another level too."
A fired-up Conant defense held Trimarco to just 50 yards rushing in the first half. But the Saxon runner stepped-up when it mattered most.
Schaumburg (4-2, 2-0) trailed 28-13 mid-way through the third quarter when Trimarco broke his first long run from scrimmage of the night. His 65-yard dance to pay dirt was the perfect response to Conant's 59-yard touchdown from Scott Zari just 19 seconds prior.
The run not only foreshadowed the rest of the evening, but it also appeared to be a bit of deja-vu.
For the second time, Trimarco immediately responded to a Zari touchdown. Following Zari's 9-yard touchdown run in the first quarter, Trimarco broke free on the ensuing kick-off for a 79-yard touchdown return.
"Just having Mick in the backfield is a huge threat," Saxon quarterback Cody Logsdon said. "If they don't key on him, then he'll do what he did in the second half."
Even with Conant keying on him, the Cougars (1-5, 0-2) were powerless to stop him from breaking fourth quarter touchdown runs of 49 and 48 yards.
"We didn't tackle him very well. He broke tackles and outran us," Conant coach Bill Modelski said. "That certainly is an issue for us. There is not a whole lot you can do about it. You can't just snap your fingers and have a safety that is 200 pounds."
Logsdon finished the evening 8-14 for 99 yards. The signal-caller threw 2 touchdown passes, one each to Anthony Ianotti and Josh Spandiary.
"It was awesome. The offensive line was terrific tonight. There was no pressure at all. I could sit back there for five seconds if I wanted to. It was just amazing," Logsdon said.
Conant was paced by Zari's 139 rushing yards and 2 touchdowns.
Tom Houle added 111 yards on the ground, including a 42-yard scamper into the end zone.
Otto Linderman added a 2-yard touchdown run for the Cougars.
"It's tough to lose your homecoming game no matter who you're playing. Losing to your rivals, it just exasperates the problem," Zari said.
-- Jason Rosenberg