Perfect finish for Aurora Christian
Aurora Christian quarterback Jordan Roberts has used his arm to defeat may opponents in his four years as a varsity starter and occasionally he has used his legs but Roberts made the big play of the game against Private School League rival Wheaton Academy with his foot. Roberts put a punt down to the Warriors 1-yard line and the next play linebacker Ryan Perik was able to record the safety for 2 points and get the ball back for the Eagles with just under two minutes to play in the half. Roberts hit David Zielke with a 5 yard TD pass with 38 seconds to play in the half that opened up what had been a tight game and the Eagles with stood a late fourth quarter run by the Warriors to come away with a 34-19 victory to cap a perfect 9-0 season.
"I was really debating going for it on fourth and two," said Aurora Christian coach Don Beebe. "We got them down at the 1 and then Perik makes a tremendous play and we get the ball back and we scored and I think that was the game."
Roberts added to his impressive list of personal records in the first half when he completed a 32 yard pas to Matt Morse, Roberts became the IHSA all time leader in passing yards. Morse also caught a TD pass earlier this year that broke the all time TD mark.
"I didn't know it was the record breaking catch at the time," said Morse. "We were just worried about coming out here and winning a football game but it is just an honor to be able to do it with Jordan and to share history with him."
"Jordan works so hard," said Beebe. "He is a special kid a humble kid and you would never guess he owns two of the biggest individual records in IHSA football and that is he one of the greatest QB's in IHSA history."
IC 35, ACC 6: After Immaculate Conception's game at Aurora Central Catholic, Knights coach Bill Schmidt said what all his players were thinking - "Can you say playoffs, baby?"
In order to make the playoffs this year, the Knights needed to beat the Chargers. They did just that in a 35-6 decision in the final game of the regular season in Suburban Catholic Conference action Friday in Aurora.
"(Making the playoffs) was the goal right from Nov. 26 (last year) when we got into the weight room," Schmidt said. "We've had some tough years where we had key guys injured, always fell short of our goal of getting in the playoffs. But this team, to their credit, did everything asked of them. They worked hard for 9 months (and) fought through tons of injuries and diversity, especially early in the year. I told them I was proud of them and they deserve to go to the playoffs."
After a late start due to rain, IC (5-4, 4-3) scored in the first quarter on a 35 yard run from Carlos Rodriquez with 2:24 left in the quarter. The Knights did it again in the second, this time on a 55 yard run by Will Cronin. With both extra point kick attempts good from Olivia Vatch, they entered the break leading 14-0.
Rodriquez scored again in the third on an 8 yard run, followed by Paul Homstra's TD with 2:26 remaining in the quarter. Robert Peachey, who was successful on a 2-point conversion after Homstra's score, tallied a 13 yard touchdown. After a successful extra point, IC led 35-0 with 8:13 left to play.
Andrew Scott was responsible for all 7 of ACC's points, including his 32 yard run with 4:36 remaining in the game. The Chargers ended their season 0-9, 0-7.
"We had no answer for their size up front," ACC coach Mike Curry said. "They made the playoffs. They had to win tonight, and they did."
- Christine Bolin
Harvard 42, BC 16: Lightning delayed the start of Friday's Big Northern-East football game between visiting Harvard and Burlington Central by 75 minutes.
Once play began, Harvard followed with the thunder.
The Hornets rushed for 426 yards and 6 touchdowns on a muddy track to keep their playoff hopes alive with a 42-16 victory. Senior Phillip Towne led the way with 18 carries for 189 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Harvard (5-4, 3-2) should end up with 34 playoff points, and will have to sweat out tonight's playoff pairings announcement.
"Without this win we had no chance," Harvard coach Tim Haak said. "We can only do what we can control."
What the Hornets controlled was the line of scrimmage on both sides of the ball. On their first offensive play junior running back Vince Gabrys broke through the Central line and raced 76 yards for a touchdown.
Central (2-7, 2-3) threatened to tie the game in the second quarter, but Harvard forced a fumble and returned it to the Rockets' 35-yard line. Towne scored up the middle untouched on the next play to make it 14-0 Harvard with 9:44 left in the second quarter.
"That killed our momentum," Central coach Aaron Wichman said of the fumble return.
- Jerry Fitzpatrick