Lake Zurich holds off Wheaton North to advance to semis
Jacob Brinlee wasn't stunned by the surreal turn of events Saturday night at Wheaton's Rexilius Field.
Bottom line, Brinlee's Lake Zurich Bears are moving on.
No. 11 seed Lake Zurich saw a three-touchdown lead dwindle to one score during 32 seconds of the fourth quarter of a Class 7A football playoff game with No. 15 Wheaton North, but the Bears held on for a 24-17 win. Lake Zurich (9-3) advances to host No. 1 Glenbard West (12-0) next weekend.
"We knew this team could come back," said Bears senior running back Brinlee, "but I guess not everyone took it to heart."
Wheaton North (7-5) nearly pulled off the most improbable comeback in a late-season run full of them. The Falcons, who lost to Lake Zurich 35-9 in Week 2, trailed 24-3 and had the Bears knocking on the door with a fourth-and-goal at the 2.
But Wheaton North stuffed Lake Zurich for a 10-yard loss, and quarterback Reece Butler then led a 12-play drive capped by a 6-yard touchdown pass to Hunter Thorson on fourth-and-goal with 6:57 left in the fourth quarter.
Wheaton North then recovered a fumble on Lake Zurich's next play from scrimmage, and Butler found Shaniel Katariwala for a 13-yard touchdown and a 24-17 game with 6:25 on the clock.
"We've been a resilient group all year," said one-time backup Butler, who also led fourth-quarter comebacks in Week 9 against Glenbard East and in a first-round win over Rockford Boylan during a four-game winning streak. "We've never stopped fighting all year. I can't tell you how proud I am of my teammates."
Wheaton North stopped Lake Zurich on its next possession and drove down to the Bears' 14, but a Butler jump-ball pass into the end zone was picked off by leaping Bears linebacker Kevin Gratys.
"Team scores two touchdowns in a row, we have to respond," Gratys said. "That's what we did."
The Falcons got the ball back one last time with just over a minute left. Three Butler passes took it to the Lake Zurich 28, but a fourth-down pass was knocked down by Anthony Blechschmidt. Butler completed 19 of 39 passes for 208 yards but was intercepted 4 times. Butler also had a second-quarter touchdown pass called back on a penalty, the Falcons settling for a field goal.
"This one's on me," Butler said. "I turned the ball over four times. I can't do that. My team played great tonight."
Just like in the teams' first meeting, Wheaton North grabbed an early 3-0 lead. Just like the first game, the Bears answered with a Brinlee big play. Following a Steve Jones field goal for the Falcons, Brinlee took the first play on Lake Zurich's ensuing drive for an 80-yard touchdown run.
After the Bears stuffed Wheaton North on fourth-and-inches at the Falcons 30, Brinlee took in a score from 21 yards out on fourth down, tucking and running on a play intended to be a halfback pass. A third big play, a 53-yard touchdown run by Mike Shield, gave the Bears a 24-3 lead with 6:25 left in the third quarter.
"Our offense never was running real smooth," said Brinlee, who had 20 carries for 136 yards, "but we had a couple big plays. That helps anytime."