Addison Trail's season over

ROCKFORD -- Addison Trail couldn't run, couldn't pass and couldn't hold onto the ball.

But the Blazers still had a chance to win until a pick six turned into a short pass completion for Rockford Boylan in the Titans' 31-7 victory over Addison Trail in the first round of the Class 6A football playoffs Saturday.

The Blazers (5-5) ran for only 46 yards on 34 carries, threw four interceptions and had six turnovers. Yet they trailed only 14-7 when Vince Beltrano stepped in front of a Boylan receiver at the 10-yard line in the final seconds of the third quarter.

Beltrano juggled the ball for a step, and then it came flying out right to a fellow Blazer. But the ball bounced off him, too, and Boylan's Aaron Einhorn wound up with the ball.

"What a play. It hit him right there," Addison Trail coach Paul Parpet Jr. said, pointing to the middle of his chest. "It slipped out, hit another kid, and then they ended up catching it.

"If it wasn't going to be a touchdown, it was going to be close."

Instead, Boylan punted and the Blazers fumbled on the next play. Three plays later, Tyreis Thomas scored on a 31-yard run to put Boylan ahead 21-7.

Boylan (10-0) ran for 294 yards on 51 carries, but the Titans started slowly. Boylan lost two fumbles and threw an interception on its first three possessions. The Blazers jumped to a 7-0 lead on Trevor Bermingham's 34-yard pass to Anthony Catanese. But Addison Trail could not capitalize on Boylan's second two turnovers, and Boylan eventually held the Blazers to 10-of-28 passing for only 113 yards with those four interceptions.

Addison Trail didn't trail until it fumbled a snap with 1:16 remaining in the half. Boylan recovered at the 18 and scored two plays later on a 6-yard run by Chris Miller, who also had two of Boylan's four interceptions.

Parpet called that a "damaging" turnover.

"We had some momentum and were going to end the half on a positive note," he said. "That's been our Achilles' heel all year. Every time we've had an opportunity to make something happen, we turn the ball right back over. We're a young team.

"We just couldn't capitalize on the mistakes they made, especially early. In games like this, you've got to capitalize on those moments."

Anthony Messina led Addison Trail with 70 yards rushing, but the Blazers had only six yards on 10 carries the second half.

"We couldn't get anything generated on offense," Parpet Jr. said.

Matt Trowbridge is a sports writer for the Rockford Register Star