Lake Park 48, Elgin 41
Friday night's football game in Roselle had no playoff implications on the line, but that didn't stop either Lake Park or Elgin from leaving everything they had on the field.
The Maroons clawed their way back from a 21-point deficit in the final 13 minutes of the game, only to have Lake Park quarterback Larry Nawrot engineer a 63-yard scoring drive in 1:58 to give the Lancers a 48-41 victory.
Lake Park's special teams kept the home team in the game, blocking two punts in the third quarter and returning both for touchdowns to stake the Lancers to a 41-20 advantage.
"We thought maybe during the week of practice we could get (their punter)," Lake Park assistant coach Dave Mikes said. "The first one especially kind of got us going, and then the second one turned out to be bigger than we thought."
Junior defensive back Nick Wiley busted through the Elgin line of scrimmage for Lake Park's first punt block with 8:30 remaining in the third quarter. Linebacker Rocky Sansone picked up the loose ball and scurried 20 yards into the end zone for a 33-20 Lancers lead.
Lake Park (4-5, 3-4 Upstate Eight Conference) got to Elgin's next punt nearly two minutes later, when 5-foot-8 junior Kevin Thomas barreled through the line and blocked Adam Fones' punt with his body. Senior Frank Cataudella retrieved the bouncing ball and led a host of Lancers into the end zone for a seemingly comfortable three-score advantage.
Elgin (3-6, 1-5) refused to quit despite the 21-point deficit. The Maroons kept feeding handoffs to running back Kenny Williams, who responded with three second-half touchdowns that kept Elgin in the game.
"That's great courage and character," Elgin coach Tom Kim said of his team's comeback. "A lot of 16- and 17-year-old kids playing varsity football would have quit and folded like a house of cards. These guys stuck together as a team.
"We've been in a couple of situations like this throughout the season, and they don't quit. They just keep battling back."
Facing second-and-21 from Elgin's 32-yard line, Nawrot found running back Will Kalish along the left sideline for a 23-yard gain. Three plays later, Nawrot eluded the Elgin pass rush and connected with George Mack for the game-winning score.
"It was a great game for high school football," Mikes said. "It was fun to be here. Two teams not going to the playoffs, it was like a playoff game for us, so it was a great victory."