AC shocks Driscoll, not themselves
How big is it to send Driscoll home from the playoffs for the first time since Oregon did it all the way back in 2000?
Bigger than winning the Super Bowl.
Come on, you say, bigger than the Super Bowl?
Well, I didn't say it's bigger than the Super Bowl.
Super Bowl champion Don Beebe did.
"I told them, this is the greatest win I have ever had, it is the most exhilarating I have ever felt after winning a football game," Beebe said after Aurora Christian's 24-17 victory over the Highlanders in the Class 4A quarterfinals Saturday night.
The reason goes deeper than the magnitude of knocking out the 7-time defending state champs, though judging from all the hugs and smiles and sheer jubilation when the clock hit 0:00, Beebe and his team certainly didn't lose sight of that.
Even with a 12-0 record and just a win away from playing in their first state championship game, it's been a year of heartbreak for the Eagles, whose 27-year-old assistant coach Chris Risch is in a fight for his life with cancer.
"This was done in the purest form of football, kids just honoring Christ through their play," Beebe said. "It's not about them, it's about Coach Chris, and that to me is inspiring. It is everything I have tried to teach the boys and build a program to do. What I'm most proud of is the way they win. We're a faith-based school and I know we live in a secular world, but it's the way it should be done."
Several of the players were speechless. Two-way lineman Braxton Warner was one of the first to embrace Beebe, while wide receivers Matt Morse and David Zielke fell to the field hugging each other.
"This year they (Driscoll) may not have been as good as they usually are because of their two losses, but they are an awesome team," said quarterback Jordan Roberts, who ran his state record to 119 career touchdown passes with 2 more. "It's awesome to beat them."
The Eagles took it to Driscoll all night, leading 17-0 and 24-3.
"We work so hard in the off-season, this is something we dream about," linebacker Ryan Perik said. "With Coach Chris and everything, we just wanted to throw everything out there for him. We're just praying he'll make it. It's just amazing to come out here with a win."
Coming from the Suburban Catholic Conference, Driscoll is known for its physical style, and the Private School League Eagles hit right back - hard. None of them backed down, certainly not Lewis Gaddis, Warner, Peter Kariotis, Dylan Smith and Perik, among others.
"We surprise every team we play because we are little, they don't think we can hit hard," Smith said.
Don't get me wrong. There is absolutely no bad way to reach the state semifinals.
But there's no better way to do it than how Aurora Christian did, knocking out the seven-time defending state champions.
Think about it. Who wins seven straight championships in anything any more? Or seven straight titles at the college or professional level?
"I can't even explain how amazing this team is and the camaraderie we have," Warner said. "It is a great eye-opener for our school and what we are all about."