Antioch's 'D' delivers

Down in the dumps.

After a series of miscues and lapses, Antioch's defense had every right to feel that way Saturday night in its Class 6A second round playoff game against Highland Park.

But instead of hanging their heads, the Sequoits rose to the occasion when it mattered most to hang up Highland Park on the final play of the game.

That show of character sealed up an electrifying 35-34 overtime victory for the Sequoits, who stay undefeated at 11-0 and move into the quarterfinals for only the fourth time in school history - and the first time since 1985.

Antioch will visit Glenbard South for a 1 p.m. showdown on Saturday.

"On the defense, your head never goes down with the leadership we have," said Antioch senior linebacker Tom Gerstner, who was front-and-center in the defense's redemption play. "But it was tough today. It wasn't good out there."

Not in the moments leading up to final play it wasn't.

The Antioch defense allowed Highland Park (8-3) to not only score a touchdown on a crazy, improbable play with just 8.1 seconds left in regulation, it also gave up a two-point conversion that erased what appeared to be a foolproof eight-point lead.

Highland Park quarterback Anthony Kopp was in dire straits when he was scrambling all over the field to make something happen on a fourth-and-10 from the Antioch 16-yard line.

He almost was forced out of bounds on the near sideline when he launched a prayer of a pass that crossed the entire width of the field and somehow landed in the hands of Brian Wilneff, who ran into the end zone.

Courtney Frison's run for the two-point conversion tied the game at 28-28.

Then, in overtime, after the Antioch offense opened with a Cameron White touchdown and the Highland Park offense matched it, the Antioch defense got flagged for having 12 men on the field for the extra point attempt.

That gave Highland Park the ball at the 1 1/2-yard line. Given the prime field position, the Giants elected to go for the two-point conversion and the win.

"We were nervous," Gerstner said of the sticky situation the defense found itself in.

But those nerves calmed as soon as the Sequoits saw Highland Park's formation. They had seen it many times before in their preparations.

"We knew what they were going to do," Gerstner said. "We knew what was coming."

No wonder Gerstner and defensive lineman Alec Paramski got to Frison before the standout running back even got back to the line of scrimmage.

"Everything just happened really fast," said Frison, who was trying to make a sweep play work.

As Gerstner and Paramski emphatically wrapped up Frison, the Antioch sideline and the home fans erupted in frenzied excitement-and relief.

Victory was preserved by the defense-finally.

"It was like a 30-second delay for me," said Antioch coach Brian Glashagel, who may have gotten a few gray hairs after enduring such a roller-coaster ride. "I was serious there, then finally it hit. I couldn't believe it.

"I think a lot of great teams go through things (bumps in the road) like this. But when we need to score we do. When we need a stop, we get it. When we need the big kick or big play, we get it."

The Sequoits got plenty of big plays on offense from White.

Not only did he score with ease in overtime from 10 yards out, he also busted off an 80-yard touchdown run with 1:42 left to give the Sequoits their 28-20 lead that eventually disappeared.

Plus, he scored about three minutes before that on a 7-yard run to erase a six-point deficit and give the Sequoits a 21-20 lead.

"It was a good job blocking up front by the linemen," said White, who finished with 193 yards on 22 carries. "It was us just sticking together and pulling off the win. The defense stuck together, too. It was a hard game for them, but they made the stop when it counted."

Quarterback Matt Romani also came up big for the Sequoits. He passed for a touchdown (8 yards to Eric Smith) and ran for one (1 yard) to give Antioch a 14-7 lead midway through the third quarter.

Meanwhile, fullback Steve Lorenzini rolled up 76 rushing yards for Antioch.

For Highland Park, Kopp played a part in all five touchdowns. He threw for two and ran for three, including the score in overtime.