Fantastic finishes spark St. Viator, Schaumburg

One thought entered St. Viator junior wide receiver John Balas’ mind as a St. Ignatius defender tripped over his foot at the same time the football started to come in his direction from quarterback Mickey Macius last Friday.

At stake with a little more than two minutes left was St. Viator’s chance to wipe out a 3-point deficit and 9-game losing streak.

“All I was thinking was, ‘I’d better not drop this, I’d better not drop this,’” Balas said.

Balas didn’t as Macius hit him in stride for a 63-yard touchdown pass. Andrew Norris then returned an interception for a touchdown to seal the Lions’ 26-15 victory.

“It was a huge, huge monkey to get off our back and I’m glad we got it,” Balas said. “We felt good the whole game. The offense was working well and the defense was playing out of their minds.

“A lot of credit goes to them for keeping us in the game. The offense was doing well but sometimes we couldn’t punch it in. As a group we felt confident we were going to pull it out.”

And that made the feeling that much sweeter when Balas pulled in the go-ahead touchdown pass from Macius after they had just missed on a similar play in the first half.

“The linemen and Guth came over and it was such a huge feeling of elation,” Balas said. “It was huge that Mickey threw such a good ball. It was all just a huge adrenaline rush.

“You wanted to be able to see zeros on the clock and know we had it in the bag. When Norris took (the interception) to the house, it was awesome.”

Especially since Balas and coach Chris Kirkpatrick said Viator hadn’t packed it in despite a series of big losses personnel-wise to injuries and on the scoreboard. The win was certainly a confidence-booster going into another tough trip Friday to Carmel.

Balas (24 catches, 360 yards), Macius (1,021 yards passing, 8 touchdowns) and the underclassmen would like to build some momentum for next season and send their senior teammates out on a positive note.

“One of the things Coach K preached to us before we played Friday was to get out with a winning record the last four games and we need to do that,” Balas said. “I believe we have a good chance to get there.”

Ultimate improvisation: Sophomore quarterback Stacey Smith’s 5-yard touchdown run from last week is destined to be replayed for years at Schaumburg as a testament to heart and perseverance.

Two Fremd defenders got hands on Smith before he fumbled, picked it up in the pocket, cut to the left sideline and eluded another series of defenders en route to the end zone and a 26-23 overtime win for the Saxons.

“Whatever you want to call it, miraculous or ridiculous,” said Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling. “There were eight kids who touched him or were an inch away from him.

“The last play notwithstanding, on the heels of a three-game losing streak, it was a huge win for our kids and for our program.”

Said Fremd coach Mike Donatucci: “We had six guys right there … you couldn’t have staged that. Give the kid credit. He’s quite an athlete.”

Smith was starting only his second game at quarterback and still leads the 3-3 Saxons in receiving yards and is second in rushing yards. Junior quarterback Nick Anzelmo returns from a broken finger when they host Hoffman Estates at 6:30 p.m. today.

“We’ll find ways to get them both involved and Nick has definitely proved himself to be a huge part of how we won our first two games,” Stilling said. “Nick has been incredible the last couple of weeks he’s been out in staying involved with the offense and helping Stacey come along. You couldn’t ask for somebody to handle a situation more unselfishly.”

Cross-town classic on TV: Palatine coach Tyler Donnelly said there “will be a lot of things going on” when his team heads to Fremd for the 45th meeting of the cross-town rivalry at 6:30 p.m. today.

It will be the final regular-season home game for retiring Fremd coach Mike Donatucci. It is the Comcast Game of the Week and can be seen on CN100 at noon Saturday and 7 p.m. Monday or at Comcast On Demand.

And Fremd (3-3, 1-1) is trying to extend streaks of 16 playoff appearances and eight MSL West titles while 5-1 Palatine (5-1, 2-0) looks to maintain its one-game division lead.

“The kids were ready to play the next day (after a 35-14 win over Barrington),” Donnelly said. “It’s Fremd. It’s still a matter of execution and they do a real good job of giving us problems every year.”

The short trip shouldn’t be any trouble as Palatine will be playing its fifth road game.

“That’s our home away from home — the bus,” Donnelly said. “At least we’re used to that.”

Unevenly even series: When Elk Grove (5-1, 2-0) travels to Prospect (3-3, 2-0) at 6:30 p.m. today in a showdown for the MSL East lead it will also break a series tied at 21-21.

But Prospect’s dramatic 42-41 overtime victory in Week 8 for the East crown was its sixth in a row and 12th in the last 14 meetings.

“Our kids finally came out and talked about last year and losing that game,” Elk Grove coach Brian Doll said. “Obviously they remember it quite well.”

Doll also said the Knights haven’t forgotten what has made them one of the state’s most successful programs in the last decade.

“Their linebackers are bigger kids than we’ve seen the last couple of weeks and they play physical,” Doll said of a group led by two-way lineman Austin Tixier and middle linebacker Mike Etchingham. “They still do a lot of things they’re known for around Prospect. They always get seven or eight guys to the tackle and that’s still there.”

The good news for Elk Grove is it will get even stronger up front with the return of sophomore John Assimakopoulos. Doll said Dejan Basara also might be available to kick extra points and field goals.

“It’s nice to be in this position where you have a game you’re preparing for and the winner will have a chance to control their fate in the conference at this point,” said Prospect coach Mike Sebestyen. “(Louisville basketball coach) Rick Pitino made a big deal that this is the type of pressure you want to be under all the time. It should be a fun game.”

Reunion time: Prospect will celebrate the 10th anniversary of its undefeated Class 7A state championship team at the Friday, Oct. 14 home game with Rolling Meadows. There will be a pregame ceremony honoring players and coaches and a postgame gathering.