Saxons rise to occasion in Glenview

Schaumburg faced a difficult test in its Class 8A football playoff opener Saturday against a Glenbrook South team which came in averaging 41 points a game.

The Saxons, anchored by a staunch defense and gritty ground game, passed with flying colors for more than three and half quarters then were forced to sweat out a wild and wooly last few minutes.

The two teams combined for 4 touchdowns in the final 3:43 and the 20-16 Schaumburg victory wasn't clinched until senior Mike Valenti recovered a Glenbrook South onside kick with 30 seconds left.

"We watched a lot of film on them," said Valenti, who grabbed a touchdown pass and also recorded one of two Schaumburg interceptions. "We knew we could stop them, and it definitely sank in that we could when we made that first goal line stand."

Schaumburg stopped the Titans five times on 4th down, the biggest coming in the 2nd quarter when the home team drove to the Saxons 7-yard line.

Perrish Bell intercepted South quarterback Ryan Hopkins in the end zone to end the threat.

"I couldn't be prouder of these guys," said Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling. "They showed their resolve, especially on those goal line stands, against a team that has the best offensive line we've seen."

The only score of the first three quarters came on Valenti's 9-yard catch of an Anthony Iannotti toss, then it looked as if Schamburg (6-4) had put the game away when Shepard Little (29 rushes for 124 yards) swept in from 7 yards out with 3:43 left.

But it only took 2 plays for South to race down the field and score on a Mike Hirsch 1-yard run.

Then Schaumburg answered again when Iannotti broke several tackles on a 70-yard touchdown scamper.

South (8-2) closed out the wild scramble when Hopkins threw for a 13 yard TD to Alex Langill, but the with the Titans looking for one more chance Valenti hung on to the onside kick despite taking a hard lick.

"Coach told us (before the kick), 'don't be nervous' " Valenti said. "I wasn't nervous at all. I knew I had to hold on to the ball and not let it slip away."

Iannotti passed for 104 yards. Hopkins completed 21 passes for 273 yards and South receiver Trent Monckton caught 14 passes for 233 yards, with 170 of those yards coming in the final three minutes of the game.

"We've faced tough competition all year," said Iannotti of the 13th-seeded Saxons upset of the number 4 seed.

"We don't look at any team as being above us. We feel we're the equal of any team. I couldn't be prouder - our defense and offense picked each other up tonight. It's a great feeling."