St. Viator keeps postseason hopes alive
St. Viator came away with a much needed East Suburban Catholic Conference victory Friday night in Chicago Heights, as the Lions held off Marian Catholic 16-10.
"We really needed that one," St. Viator coach Chris Kirkpatrick said. "We are hanging on for dear life. We have been clawing and scratching and made plays when we had to."
With the win the Lions (3-4, 1-4) broke a 4-game losing streak. It also kept them in the postseason hunt.
"This was huge for us," said Shane Martin, who moved from linebacker to defensive end and led the team with 7 tackles.
"It was different playing there and it took some time to get comfortable. But it is what the team needed, so I was happy to make the switch."
It didn't take the Lions long to get comfortable in a place where they had never won before. Eight plays after Matt Barry recovered a fumbled punt, Julian Sipiora hit Kevin Hulsebosch on a 24-yard touchdown pass, with Hulsebosch stretching over the goal line to make it 7-0 with 5:25 left in the first quarter.
"The middle was open," said Sipiora, who was 12-of-19 for 162 yards. "Kevin ran a good pattern and I just hit him."
It became 10-0 late in the first half as John Sandmeir connected on a 31 yard field goal with 19.8 seconds left.
Marian Catholic (1-6, 1-4) cut the margin to 10-3 on a 29-yard field goal by Dan Roque with 5:08 left in the third quarter.
The Lions then put together their best drive in weeks. St. Viator moved 77 yards in 12 plays with Nick Niro racing the final 9 yards untouched into the end zone to make it 16-3 with 11:51 to play.
Marian came back on the first play from scrimmage after the kickoff. Joseph Hess took a swing pass and went 53 yards to make it 16-10.
The Lions then came away with a pair of defensive stops to preserve the victory. The final one had the Spartans move the ball from their own 10 to the Lions' 25. But with 19.7 seconds remaining, Sipiora, who had been inserted at safety on the final series, intercepted at the Lions' 7.
"They didn't throw my way the whole time, Sipiora said. "And when they did, I just stepped up and made a play."