Stevenson weathers Antioch
On a night when Antioch standout running back/kicker Vinnie Holm had to take a seat on the sideline in a wheelchair, his teammates still managed to go toe-to-toe with one of Lake County's best football teams.
Holm suffered a torn ACL and meniscus earlier in the week and was only a spectator for the game.
Antioch held a 7-point lead at one point midway through the second quarter, at which point a lightning delay of 51 minutes seemed to chang the momentum in the other direction.
Stevenson responded with 21 answered points and rallied from behind for the second straight week before holding off the pesky Sequoits 36-21 in a North Suburban Conference crossover in Antioch.
“The coaches got together and met (during the delay),” Stevenson coach Bill McNamara said. “We were talking about things that we could do to be successful. Defensively, we made some adjustments.
“Antioch came out and were fired up. After that delay, our kids came out with a better attitude.”
Stevenson (9-0) trailed at that point 14-7 but got a 59 yard kickoff return from Kevin Foley to set up a short field. Stephen Salata (4 catches, 92 yards) caught a 37-yard pass, and then Nathan Kahn scored on a 1-yard touchdown run which tied the game at 14-14 with 5:06 left in the second quarter.
The Patriots stopped the Sequoits (7-2) on the next possession with an incompletion in the end zone on third down, and a 32-yard field goal that went wide.
Stevenson countered with 1:01 left on a 7-play, 80-yard drive. Alexander Mateshe caught his first of 2 TD receptions on a 17-yard catch from Kevin Earl (9-of-20 passing for 183 yards) for a 21-14 Patriots lead.
Mateshe caught another early in the third quarter for a 52-yard touchdown, and Stevenson led 28-14 with 9:06 left.
“I've never caught any touchdowns this year,” Mateshe said. “I thought the 52-yarder was better. I was open and Earl saw me. It couldn't have been better.”
Antioch fought back and closed within a score late in the third quarter Josh Guardarrama (15 carries, 133 yards) scampered in from 9 yards, making the score 28-21 with 1:07 left.
The Sequoits tried to clamp down defensively on the Patriots late in the final quarter. Stevenson punted the ball back to the Sequoits, but on the kick it was muffed by Guardarrama, and Stevenson's Joseph Squaglia recovered at the Antioch 4.
On the next play, Squaglia raced into the end zone with the game's final points with 5:45 remaining.
“The muffed punt did hurt us,” Antioch coach Brian Glashagel said. “He was trying to make an aggressive play. It went off his hand inside the 10 and tried to bail on it. It just hit him. A game like this it comes down to a couple of plays, like playoff football.
“We had them on their heels. The delay gave (Stevenson time to make some adjustments. Coach (Bill) McNamara did a good job.”
Stevenson running back Joe Cassata (9 carries, 109 yards) broke loose in the opening quarter with a 95-yard touchdown scamper.
Antioch's Brett Prather caught a 3-yard touchdown and scored on a 17-yard reverse right before the lightning delay.