Crystal Lake South holds off Prairie Ridge
No, Brad Walovitch didn't sell concessions at halftime of Friday night's Crystal Lake South-Prairie Ridge showdown.
The Crystal Lake South senior did all his damage on the gridiron. Walovitch caught 2 touchdown passes of 14 and 80 yards from Drew Ormseth, kicked a 24-yard field goal and picked up 5 yards on a fourth down fake punt.
The versatile Gator senior keyed a 24-20 win over intracity rival Prairie Ridge in a Fox Valley Conference crossover game at South's Ken Bruhn Field.
Walovitch, who also had a 39-yard catch, caught 4 passes for 147 yards.
"It was a great feeling to help the team win, but this is a team win," said Walovitch. "Drew threw two great balls on the touchdown passes. He hit me in stride and made it easy. "
The Gators (4-0) also got a monster performance from Ormseth, who is in his third year as the team's signal caller. Ormseth completed 8-of-11 passes for 216 yards which included the 2 scores to Walovitch. He gained 69 yards on 11 carries and scored on a 1-yard run.
"The offensive line gave me so much time to throw," said Ormseth. "I could have eaten a sandwich in the pocket. This was a very tough game and we never quit. Prairie Ridge is by far the best team we have played this season. "
South coach Chuck Ahsmann praised the play of his two seniors.
"It was a great team win, but Brad and Drew were outstanding,'' said the South coach. "They made multiple great plays."
The Gators entered the fourth quarter with a tenuous 10-7 lead after Walovitch's 24-yard field goal with 4:45 left in the third quarter.
Connor Greenwald gave the Wolves a short-lived 14-10 lead on a 1-yard run with 11:04 left in the game.
On the Gators' first play after the PR TD, Ormseth dropped straight back and threw a perfect 80-yard strike to Walovitch to give South the lead for good, 17-14, with 10:54 remaining.
The Gators added some insurance when Ormseth scored on a 1-yard run with 3:09 left in the game to give the home team a 24-14 lead. The South TD was set up by an incredible 33-yard catch by Kevin Rogers. Rogers caught the ball one-handed with a PR (3-1) defender draped all over him.
The Wolves scored a consolation TD with no time remaining when Stephen Covalt connected with Sean Valentine for a 2-yard score.