St. Charles East nips Lake Park
After managing just 18 yards of offense on its last 4 possessions of the first half, St. Charles East's football team was in dire need of a spark Friday night.
Enter Zach Zajicek.
The versatile senior needed just 12 seconds to return the opening kick of the second half 83 yards for a go-ahead touchdown, and the Saints (2-5) hung on from there to knock off visiting Lake Park (1-6) 19-13 in Upstate Eight Conference crossover action at Norris Stadium.
“I was honestly thinking about it right before we came out at halftime, said Zajicek. “I knew we were getting the ball first.
Zajicek raced through untouched before making a nifty move to the outside near midfield and beating the Lancers' kick return coverage to give the Saints a 12-6 lead.
“I saw open field and the guys did a great job blocking, said Zajicek. “The only time I had to make a move was on the kicker and just kind of broke to the outside.
While the play served as a quick pick-me-up for the Saints, it was a momentum crusher to the Lancers.
“It definitely was not the way any team would like to start the second half, said Lancers assistant coach Bob Nihells. “I think it did take a little life away from us.
Five minutes later, a muffed punt gave the Lancers the ball inside the Saints' 40 before linebacker Mike Caddy made a blind-side hit that jarred the ball from Lake Park quarterback Zack Gehant.
Defensive end Andrew Carrano pounced on the loose ball at the Saints' 47, and on the next play, tailback Mike Brown (22 carries, 120 yards) raced around right end for a 53-yard touchdown that upped the lead to 19-6.
Brown had opened the scoring with a 5-yard TD run on the Saints' first possession of the contest.
“It was a good feeling getting that fumble and getting the ball back for my offense, said Caddy, who had 1 of the Saints' 4 sacks (along with Jake Sheley, Tim Leibforth and Carrano).
“We've really simplified things (defensively) the last two weeks, added Caddy. “Everyone's got their job and that's what we do.
Lake Park made things interesting with 9:09 remaining when junior backup quarterback James Sowa took a pitch from Gehant and tossed a 24-yard halfback option pass to sophomore receiver Kevin Teglia (6 catches, 119 yards) for a TD that made it 19-13.
The Lancers later drove inside the red zone with less than 2 minutes left before Caddy and Leibforth combined for a no-gain tackle on first down and 3 straight incompletions sealed the Saints' second consecutive victory after starting the year 0-5.
“It's like the old White Sox adage, ‘Winnin' Ugly,' said Saints coach Mike Fields, whose team was held to 118 yards of total offense. “And we'll take it.
“When push came to shove, the boys stepped up and finished.