Wheaton Academy believes - and wins in OT

Wheaton Academy football coach Ben Wilson has been imploring his team all year to believe it can beat anybody.

But would the Warriors really believe they could unseat the 8-1, top-seeded Hillcrest Hawks on the road in Country Club Hills in the first playoff game in the program's history?

Like they have all season, the Warriors believed Friday night. And sure enough, Wheaton Academy toppled the Hawks 20-19 in overtime to advance to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs.

"Our theme all season has been: expect victory, prepare for victory and believe," Wilson said. "Our kids believed tonight. We believed we were better than them."

Wheaton Academy drew first blood with 3:57 to go in the first quarter, as senior quarterback Brian Pell found Luke Thorson on a 7-yard slant pattern to put the Warriors ahead 7-0.

After a 15-yard touchdown pass on fourth-and-6 put the Hawks ahead 13-7 midway through the fourth quarter, Pell and company harkened back to last week's loss against St. Edward, when the Warriors nearly completed a sizable fourth-quarter comeback.

Facing third-and-goal from the Hillcrest 11-yard line, Pell connected with junior receiver Brian McDonald to knot the score at 13-13.

"We knew it was going to be up to the (offensive) line at this point, and they stepped up," Pell said. "I knew my receivers and I could do it.

"We knew we could do it, especially (because of) St. Ed's last week, (where) we scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes. We couldn't close that one, but we got this one, and that's all that matters."

The Warriors had a chance to grab a 1-point lead, but the Hawks blocked Sam Cote's point-after attempt.

After Pell found Anthony Ritchie in overtime to again pull the Warriors to a tie, Cote's redemption attempt went through the uprights and into Wheaton Academy lore as the winning point in the first playoff victory.

The two timeouts prior to Cote's game-winning kick helped the junior collect his thoughts.

"It actually helped me more than anything. It gave me time to get my head in the game and focus on what I needed to do," Cote said. "I just prayed to God to give me strength, and He did."

The Warriors square off against the winner of tonight's matchup between Kaneland and Sycamore.

For one more week, the Warriors will believe.