One missed kick far from the only reason Cary-Grove lost

Yes, Trojans kicker Marcus Kerrigan missed the extra-point try that could have sent Cary-Grove and DeLaSalle to a second overtime Saturday.

And judging from the junior's pained reaction on the field after the miss -- a kick Kerrigan and some observers behind the goal post believed was good -- it's doubtful anyone feels worse this morning.

The kid entered the game as one of the finest kickers in the area with a 91.7-percent success rate on extra points (33 of 36).

But he missed one. Got under it just a little bit, like a fat 3-iron. It happens to the best. Football's unforgiving.

Heck, same thing happened to DeLaSalle kicker Juan Gonzalez after the Meteors' first-quarter touchdown. Wide right. It just wasn't as magnified.

So, if anyone blames Cary-Grove's 27-26 loss to DeLaSalle in a second-round Class 7A playoff game on Kerrigan's missed extra point, they're plain short-sighted.

"If it wasn't for him, it wouldn't have been overtime," Cary-Grove coach Bruce Kay pointed out.

If anything, Kerrigan's field goals of 27 and 42 yards in the second quarter bailed out two sputtering Trojan drives.

The latter of those 2 field goals, which improved Kerrigan to 7 of 8 on field-goal attempts for the season, was a momentum-injecting buzzer-beater prior to halftime. The boot would have been good from 50 yards, and it sent Cary-Grove into the break confident with a 13-6 lead.

"Marcus was the eraser," Kay said. "The reason we didn't get in the end zone was because we were making mistakes, so he erased those and gave us points."

When the Trojans look at the tape, they'll review three quarters of well-executed football followed by 12 mistake-filled minutes. Any one of a dozen plays had they gone differently could have kept the weight of the world off Kerrigan's shoulders at the end, such as…

… a dropped pass by wide-open running back Kyle Gray, who had slipped behind the defense with 11 minutes to play. If he grabs it, he scores and Cary-Grove leads 27-6.

… a holding call on the same drive that eventually led to a punt and a DeLaSalle 76-yard scoring march.

… a missed tackle on Frank Trevino's 24-yard scoring reception. A Trojan had him by the ankles after the catch and two more were nearby, but Trevino slipped away and out-raced them to the corner to pull the Meteors within 20-13 with 4:49 to play.

… a slip on the ensuing kickoff return by Cary-Grove returner Dan McCall. He got to his feet just in time to cover the free ball in bad field position at his own 10-yard line.

… a shanked punt by Matt Nelsen that went 15 yards and gave DeLaSalle great field position at the Cary-Grove 42-yard line with 1:40 to play.

"I went up to Marcus and I told him that every single person that played the game did something that helped us lose the game," linebacker Paul Rands said. "I know I did a few things. It's not his fault. Every time a team loses, there are multiple things that go on."

"It's not one play," echoed senior Max Timmins, a wildman on defense throughout the game. "I will never blame him."

Kay knows better than anyone that programs survive missed kicks in playoff games. His Trojans lost a state semifinal to Rock Island in overtime in identical fashion on Nov. 22, 1997, losing 14-13 when Tim Frost's kick went wide to the left.

Unlike Frost, Kerrigan is a junior. He'll get another chance. Anyone wanna bet against him being the best kicker in the area next year?

I'll take that bet.