Glenbard North 14, West Aurora 7
The consequences were life or death. Only one football team -- either Glenbard North or West Aurora -- would survive the do-or-die duel and keep its season alive.
The stakes couldn't have been much higher, nor could the game have been much tighter. For more than 47 minutes, the victor wasn't certain, until Glenbard North's Matt Ng came up with the game's only interception in the waning seconds to thwart West Aurora's last scoring opportunity.
Ng's pick preserved a 14-7 DuPage Valley Conference victory for Glenbard North, pushing the Panthers to 5-4 overall and all but assuring the team's fifth consecutive trip to the playoffs when the pairings are announced tonight.
On the flip side, it was "elimination Friday" for West Aurora, which was seeking its first playoff berth in 13 years but fell just short, finishing 4-5 overall.
The game featured stellar defense on both sides. The Blackhawks (4-5, 2-5) set the tone in the first quarter when defensive tackle Aaron Taylor stuffed Tyler Doll short of the end zone on fourth-and-goal from the West Aurora 1-yard line.
But any momentum from the mighty stand was short-lived. West Aurora went nowhere in three ensuing plays, and Kevin Costin's attempted punt was blocked by Justin Wahrman, giving Glenbard North (5-4, 4-3) a first down at West Aurora's 2-yard line.
West Aurora held tough, forcing Glenbard North to fourth down a the 4-yard line. But the Panthers converted this time as quarterback Evan Watkins tossed a dump-off pass to Ng, who twirled and fought his way through three tackles to stretch into the end zone.
"After the (earlier) goal-line stand, we didn't want to settle for a field goal; we had to get it into the end zone," Glenbard North coach Ryan Wilkens said. "Matt did a heck of a job getting in. His second and third effort on that play helped win the game for us."
West Aurora answered with a spectacular fourth-down play of its own. Starting at their own 31, the Blackhawks used runs of 19, 16 and 11 yards by Colton Winston to advance into the red zone. But a sack of QB John Nunnally by Glenbard North's Jim Montgomery left West Aurora with a fourth-and-17 from the Glenbard North 27.
Nunnally went to the air one more time, lofting a perfect pass down the middle to hit Tim Soloff in stride for a 27-yard TD as West Aurora pulled even at 7-7 with 3:21 left in the first half.
Behind workhorse running back Tyler Doll, Glenbard North mounted a quick drive and roared back to score in the final minute. It took the Panthers just eight plays to hit paydirt, which came when Watkins aired out a timing pass to Ng in the right corner of the end zone for a 15-yard TD with 54 seconds left before halftime.
"Great route by Matt, great ball by Evan," Wilkens said. "That play was right on the money."
A 44-yard screen pass from Nunnally to Markus Cocroft took West Aurora to the Glenbard North 19, but the Blackhawks could not convert on the three plays from there as the final seconds ticked off in the first half.
It was all defense in the second half. West Aurora reached the red zone on each of its first three possessions, only to be stymied. Nor could the Blackhawks capitalize on fumble recoveries by Costin and Juan Perez. Glenbard North possessed the ball for only eight minutes in the second half.
It finally came down to West Aurora last-gasp drive, which began at its own 10-yard line with 4:35 left. Facing a fourth-and-19, Nunnally hit Theo Hicks for 25 yards to keep the season alive. But after another sack by Montgomery, West Aurora couldn't duplicate the feat on its next fourth down, when Ng pulled down the game's only interception.
"Matt does it all for us -- returns kicks, plays offense and defense," Wilkens said. "Sometimes he even thinks he's a coach."