McGrath, Lisle design OT victory
When asked if his team's third-down play in overtime was designed to be a run or a pass, Lisle quarterback Mark McGrath replied neither.
"It was designed to be a touchdown," he said.
McGrath, filling in for the injured Alec VanVolkenburg, scored from 3 yards out on the Lions' third play in overtime to send Lisle to a 24-21 overtime victory in the Interstate Eight Small on Friday at Benedictine University.
McGrath completed 6 of 15 passes for 125 yards and a touchdown and ran 18 times for 75 yards and 2 touchdowns as Lisle improved to 5-2 overall and 4-1 in the conference.
"I played quarterback my whole life," McGrath said. "When I was little I played quarterback. But when I came here Alec, the best quarterback in the conference, was here, so I moved to wide receiver. Tonight, he was helping me out. A lot of guys wouldn't do that, but he stood on the sidelines the whole time to help me."
Lisle built a 15-3 lead in the first half on a 19-yard touchdown pass from McGrath to Nick Massura and a 1-yard keeper by McGrath. But Herscher (4-3, 3-2) stiffened on defense in the second half and got within 15-10 on a 38-yard pass from Tyler Jones to Trevor Berns early in the third quarter.
"They're a good team," McGrath said. "They're one of the better teams we faced. They did a good job making adjustments on us. They didn't let us get outside too well."
The Lions did extend the lead to 18-10 with 2:43 remaining in the game on McGrath's 27-yard field goal, but Herscher tied the game on a 1-yard run by Matt Alsip after he and Jones hooked up on a 43-yard screen pass. Berns' pass to Jones on the conversion tied the game at 18-18.
Lisle elected to go on defense first in overtime, and forced Herscher to settle for a 25-yard field goal by Tyler Fisher. McGrath picked up 7 yards on Lisle's first play in overtime before he was stuffed for no gain on second down.
"Alec hurt himself in warmup," Lisle coach Paul Parpet Sr. said. "But the Lions rallied. That's (Herscher) a good football team. When you get into situations like that (in overtime), I learned a long time ago that it's not about plays, it's about players. I wanted the ball in Mark's hands."