Stevenson 24, Libertyville 21

Wide right felt oh-so-right for Stevenson.

The Patriots' sideline erupted with joy and relief Friday night when Libertyville kicker Alvaro Castro just missed on a 40-yard field goal with 43 seconds left to play.

A make would have tied the game and likely sent it into overtime.

And a make seemed likely.

After all, Castro has been on fire lately. Last week, he nailed a school-record 47-yard field goal. It was his seventh field goal of the season -- also a record.

But Castro's misfire preserved a 24-21 Stevenson victory in a game that both North Suburban Conference perennial powers desperately needed to win as the playoffs draw near.

"That was pretty nerve-wracking," Stevenson wide receiver Michael Bilton said of watching Castro's kick. "But now, we're feeling great."

The host Patriots improve to 5-3 and likely qualified themselves for the playoffs for the 19th year in a row.

If they get a win next week in their finale against Warren, they'll notch the minimum 6 wins for an automatic playoff berth. But even if they don't, they now have enough wins to qualify on playoff points, which they should have plenty of.

Libertyville, meanwhile, drops to 4-4 overall. A loss to Lake Forest next week will disqualify the Wildcats from the playoffs for the first time since 1996. A win should get them in with enough playoffs points.

"It's do or die now -- one game," Libertyville coach Randy Kuceyeski said. "I've got confidence we're going to come back and do it. I really do.

"You saw (the character) right there in the fourth quarter. They do have it within themselves to do it."

The Wildcats definitely showed some resilience late in the game. They were down 24-14 with 7:11 remaining after Stevenson linebacker Austin Self recovered a Libertyville fumble and the Patriots marched into the end zone four plays later.

Mark Weisman scored on a 2-yard run.

But quarterback Tom Piazzi got the Libertyville offense moving at a nice clip and the Wildcats scored four minutes later. Piazzi completed four passes on the 11-play drive, including a 10-yard touchdown strike to running back Joey Schlesinger.

That cut Stevenson's lead to 24-21 with 3:27 left.

When the Libertyville defense forced Stevenson into a three-and-out in less than 40 seconds, the Wildcats thought they were in just the position they needed to be in.

"We let them have life," Stevenson coach Bill Mitz said. "And they're not going to die, especially in a game like this."

Libertyville got the ball back at Stevenson's 42-yard line. The Wildcats could get no further than the 23-yard line before they had to call on Castro.

"We got the momentum back and we almost pulled out a win," said Schlesinger, who scored 2 touchdowns and rushed for 44 yards. "We got exactly what we wanted. If I had to put anyone in position (to win or tie a game) it would be Castro.

"You can't blame him at all. We just came up short and now we're hanging at the end of the rope."

Libertyville took an early 7-0 lead when Austin Powell ran in a 3-yard touchdown on the first series of the game.

Stevenson kicker Ian Harris answered by booting a 27-yard field goal just before the quarter ended.

But the Patriots made their strongest surge in the second quarter when Bilton hauled in 2 touchdown passes from quarterback Zach Wujcik (17-of-29, 215 yards).

Bilton caught a total of 7 passes for 117 yards. Dan Morales also had a big night for Stevenson, catching 7 passes for 98 yards.

"I have all the confidence in (Morales and Bilton)," Wujcik said. "I know I can throw the ball up there and they can catch it.

"They're the playmakers, I'm just getting them the ball."