West Chicago wins in second OT
It is said that the best things in life are worth waiting for, and West Chicago knows exactly what that means.
The Wildcats earned a 7-6 home victory Friday night in double overtime.
After suffering through a winless season last year, the Wildcats battled Plainfield North for four tough quarters to a scoreless tie. In the first overtime West Chicago stuffed the Tigers' run attempt on a fourth-and-2 and seemed on the doorstep of victory when they lined up for an 18-yard field-goal try. But the long battle took a toll on the usual field-goal kicker, who was down with cramps, and the kick sailed wide.
The Wildcats went first in the second OT and after Brad Wilson took a first down carry to the 5-yard line, Kyle Molskow finally put some points on the board with a 5-yard TD run. Just as importantly, Ivan Kovanda, the regular place-kicker, had recovered enough to knock through the point after.
Plainfield North QB Kyle Palandech scored on a 10-yard run to get the Tigers on the board, and it seemed as if the Wildcats' long-awaited victory celebration would be delayed again. But the extra point was no good, and West Chicago could finally claim the victory.
The win was West Chicago coach Paul Reinke's first at the school.
"It feels pretty good," Reinke said. "We moved the ball. We left some points out on the field today. Those are things we hope to clean up next week, but our offense showed a lot of promise and signs of what we are capable of doing.
"Our kids did a great job tonight. This game kept going and going and going, and it is pretty sweet to get it this way. A game like this comes down to the guys doing what they do every day in practice. If we can implement that, then we get good results."
The Wildcats (1-0) dominated the first quarter behind the running of Brad Wilson, who rushed for a team-high 98 yards, and Josh Stein, who rushed for 69 yards and threw for 56. But a couple of penalties killed promising drives into Tigers territory.
In the second half Plainfield North (0-1) seemed to get into a rhythm offensively by pounding the run with Mike Antos. Antos carried a game-high 26 times for 110 yards and seemed headed for a long scoring run when he was dragged down at the Wildcats' 12-yard line by Nikolas Kmiecik. The defense stiffened from there, and John Ragano deflected a screen pass on fourth and 7 from the 9 that preserved the tie and gave the Wildcats the ball.
"I don't think a team can work harder for the past seven months to be ready to go like we were," Wildcats senior Matthew Zajac said. "It came down to overtime and we stepped up and shut them down. Unbelievable, it's a great feeling to get the satisfaction that we worked so hard and we were able to come out here and get a victory."