Hail Mary propels Crystal Lake S. by Streamwood
Will Ahsmann knew his Dad wasn’t going to be pleased at halftime after the senior defensive back was burned for a 4-yard touchdown by Streamwood receiver Blake Holder with 33 seconds left in the second quarter.
Since Will’s dad is Crystal Lake South head coach Chuck Ahsmann, he felt the urgent need to produce quickly on the offensive side of the ball in order to take the edge off his father’s mood. Son found the perfect way to head off Dad’s lecture by catching a 44-yard Hail Mary pass from quarterback Austin Fowler with .9 seconds left in the first half.
“He redeemed himself before I got a chance to yell at him,” smiling coach Chuck Ahsmann said, tongue in cheek.
“That felt a lot better because after I gave up a touchdown to the wide receiver I was not happy with myself,” Will Ahsmann said.
The stunning play gave the Gators a 21-7 lead and ignited the offense. No. 3 Crystal Lake South went on to score 2 more touchdowns in the second half to defeat tenacious No. 14 Streamwood 35-7 in the Class 7A playoff opener at Ken Bruhn Field in Crystal Lake Friday.
The victory advances CL South (9-1) to a second-round game next week at No. 11 Carmel (7-3), which knocked off No. 6 Addison Trail (8-2) by a final score of 28-20.
The Hail Mary wasn’t the only reason the Gators were able to distance themselves from Streamwood (6-4). They also held 1,200-yard rusher Alex Morrow to 66 yards on 15 carries, including 9 yards in the first half. But the momentum-robbing Hail Mary crushed the spirit of the previously soaring Sabres.
Streamwood fell behind 14-0 on a 15-yard pass from Fowler to Brad Walovitch in the first quarter and a 6-yard run by Steve Forner with 2:04 left in the second quarter, but the Sabres got back in the game with their two-minute offense.
Quarterback Dalton Lundeen moved the Sabres 60 yards in 11 plays by completing 5 of 8 passes, including a 21-yard catch and run by Deji Giwa and a 16-yard screen pass to Austin Mugnai.
Lundeen capped the drive by connecting with Holder for a 4-yard touchdown. The junior made the catch just inside the pylon after gaining separation from Ahsmann.
CL South returned the ensuing squib kick to its own 38-yard line. Two running plays by senior Bryan Kazmer, each followed by timeouts, put the ball at the Streamwood 44 with 9 second left.
There was some internal confusion on the Hail Mary play, but Fowler eventually spotted Walovitch and Ahsmann covered two-on-two to the left side and heaved the ball 50 yards in the air in the general direction of Walovitch. The ball sailed over his head and the heads of two Streamwood defenders, but Ahsmann raced in from near the sideline and made a diving catch to the shock of the other 21 players on the field.
He would also make a 26-yard touchdown reception in the third quarter to put the Gators ahead 28-7.
“Will put his hand up for a split second and I tried to throw it as hard as I could,” Fowler said of the Hail Mary. “It was crazy. Great catch. That just boosted all of our confidence.”
“It was harsh,” Morrow said. “We were supposed to be in prevent and they got lucky going deep. But that wasn’t the only thing that (allowed) them to score on us.”
Senior Reese Dziedzic was a big reason the Gators were able to score and control the clock. The 6-foot-, 210-pound senior, also a starting linebacker, carried the ball 20 times for 156 yards and a fourth-quarter touchdown that capped the scoring.
Dziedzic kept both of CL South’s first-half scoring drives alive by converting on fourth-and-short situations via inside handoffs.
Streamwood was unable to gain much traction offensively other than their second-quarter drive. The Sabres were held to 181 total yards, 48 rushing.
“No matter the outcome it’s a great experience to be part of,” said Holder, who posted 4 receptions for 58 yards. “ I’m truly proud of our team. Nobody thought we’d be here besides us. It’s just a good feeling. We didn’t got all the way, but we gave it our all and that’s all that matters.”