Roberts passes up record as Eagles produce big win
Aurora Christian quarterback Jordan Roberts needed a single touchdown pass to tie the state of Illinois' all- time record for TD passes in a career. He wasted little time doing so when he came up with a 10-yard TD pass to Matt Morse at the 9:25 mark of the first quarter.
Morse, who missed the first four games of the year due to illness, caught three more TD passes from Roberts in the first half, as the Eagles jumped out to a huge early lead over perennial PSL conference power house Chicago Christian and held on for a 42-28 victory.
"We came out throwing the ball and Jordan broke the record, it was amazing," said Morse of his QB. "Obviously, it's history and everything that we have put into it, for the last four, five years we've been working out together, and just to be able to do that with him means a lot to me. He definitely deserves every bit of it. He works hard."
"I pulled Jordan aside and I told him there is no one more proud of you than me except for your mom and dad," said Aurora Christian coach Don Beebe. "I understand how hard he has worked since seventh grade to be able to do the things he is doing today. I love his humility and that he gives other people credit and he has all the intangibles of not just a great athlete but a great person and he deserves it."
"I tried to not think about it, we just wanted to come out here and get the win," said Roberts, true to form, of the record. "The line was blocking great, giving me time to throw, and Matt was making awesome catches out there, it was a lot of fun."
The first half was certainly fun for the Eagles as Roberts threw for 299 of his 364 yards and all four of his TDs, Morse racked up 243 receiving yards for the game catching the four touchdowns and Lewis Gaddis also punched in a 12 yard run as Aurora Christian (5-0, 3-0) ran out to a 35-0 lead at the half.
"Matt came out and lit it up and proved that he is one of the best receivers in this area, the kid can play," said Beebe.
Momentum shifted in the second half, as the Eagles seemed to take their foot off the accelerator a little bit and tried grinding it out on the ground. The Knights (4-1, 2-1) were able to stop them and scored three unanswered TDs of their own and were driving to make it a one score lead when Eagles senior Luis Solario picked of a Jason Vander Laan pass and returned it 64 yards for the touchdown.
that sealed the victory.
"We've been starting slow in all our games and if you start slow against these guys you will get behind the 8-ball in a hurry and that is exactly what happened," said Chicago Christian coach Joe Hamstra.
"We came out in the second half and tried to power run the ball and it wasn't working," said Beebe. "It was ruining our rhythm that we had gotten into and it let them get into a rhythm, I won't make that mistake again. I don't like to win sixty to nothing but these things happen and when you are playing a good team like Chicago Christian you just can't do that."