CL South withstands late SCN rally
Crystal Lake South football coach Jim Stuglis could finally breathe a little easier.
Stuglis' Gators, who withstood a valiant 14-point barrage by St. Charles North in the final 6 minutes, hung on for a 24-21 win over the No. 11 seeded North Stars in a first round game of the Class 7A playoffs at South's Ken Bruhn Field Friday night.
The sixth-seeded Gators (8-2) advance to the second round to play the winner of today's Libertyville at Rockford Boylan game. South will be on the road regardless of who it plays.
St. Charles North ends the season at 6-4.
"Their quarterback can throw and they have some very good receivers," said Stuglis. "It was a dogfight until the end. We beat a very good football team and we are happy to be in the final 16."
The Gators scored what turned out to be the winning points with 8:35 left on a 27-yard field goal by Jose Ponce that gave South a 24-7 lead.
The North Stars scored on a 90-yard drive capped by a 2-yard run from Michael Ghanem and on a 60-yard drive with Ghanem reaching pay dirt from 3 yards out with 2:06 left to make the score 24-21.
St. Charles North attempted an onside kick but South's Derek Mortensen recovered at midfield. The Gators then ran out the clock to preserve the win.
"We lost to a very good team which is very physical," said St. Charles North coach Mark Gould. "We had a couple of key mistakes and that cost us. All you can ask from your kids is maximum effort and we got that tonight from our kids. We got an all-out effort.
With the score tied at 7 at halftime, the Gators seized control of the game in the third quarter. With 8:38 left, Masterson broke several tackles en route to a 13-yard TD run. A little over 5 minutes later, Masterson caught a 23-yard TD pass from quarterback Drew Ormseth and the Gators led 21-7 with 3:55 left in the period. The TD pass came on a perfectly executed fourth-and-5 play.
Masterson ended the night with 140 yards on 24 carries.
"We had some different schemes in the second half and the offensive line blocked so well," said Masterson. "I owe everything to them. They were outstanding tonight."
North's Sean McGushin was 18-of-33 passing for 229 yards. Jeff Stolzenburg caught 7 of those passes for 69 yards.