Victory looks pretty nice to Buffalo Grove
Games like this are never pretty.
When football players from Buffalo Grove and Hersey went through the handshake line after the Huskies' homecoming game Friday, it was easy to spot those who played and those who didn't. If you could read a player's jersey number, it was likely on someone who hadn't seen much playing time.
Case in point: Buffalo Grove running backs John Angotti (9 carries for 62 yards and 5 receptions for 23 yards) and Kevin Mulligan (9 carries for 66 yards) were so muddied up that they were hard to tell apart.
Angotti scored fourth-quarter touchdowns of 40 and 5 yards to break open a tight ballgame and give the visiting Bison a 21-0 Mid-Suburban East victory in a game where field conditions dictated tough sledding for both offenses.
"My feet were sinking into the mud," Angotti said. "This is the third week in a row like this."
The Bison (5-2, 3-0), who became playoff eligible for the first time since 2003 and remained tied atop the East with Rolling Meadows, scored with just 24.5 seconds left in the first half on Mulligan's 1-yard run that was set up when Brad Johnson blocked a punt, recovered the ball and ran to the Huskies' 23 before being tackled.
"My man blocked to the inside, (teammate Mike) Vivacqua took his guy, and I went in and got it with both hands," Johnson said.
Hersey made the Bison earn the points, even on a short field. It took BG 10 plays (not including 2 BG penalties and 1 on Hersey) to move the ball 23 yards.
In the second half, Hersey used the running of Alex Vaile (23 carries for 63 yards) to control the ball and the clock, but the Huskies came up short on a couple fourth-down plays, as well as an unsuccessful fake punt.
That gamble gave BG the ball on the Hersey 40, and Angotti scored two plays later.
"They played extremely hard," BG coach Jim Farrell said of Hersey. "No team in the state plays a harder schedule (playoff teams from the MSL). They're a much better team than their record (0-7, 0-3).
"I told the kids what to expect, and that was exactly how it went," Farrell said.
"The score wasn't an indicator of the effort and heart our kids put out," Hersey coach Mark Gunther said. "We took a gamble with the fake put and the end of the game, and it gave them a short field."
The Huskies' injury woes continued. Starting quarterback Chris Polinski, back in the lineup after illness and injury, left the game with a high ankle sprain in the third quarter.