Drew Kegebein scores Eagles' lone touchdown
When Aurora Christian running back Drew Kegebein scored on a 1-yard run early in the second quarter to tie Friday's game at Riverside-Brookfield, the Eagles seemed to have all of the momentum.
Although the Eagles continued to move the ball, they never scored again. R-B seized control and fed off a homecoming crowd for a 21-point fourth quarter and a 35-7 Metro Suburban Red victory.
Aurora Christian (2-2, 0-1) had two missed 41-yard field goals and lost a fumble at the Bulldogs' 7-yard line in the first half, as Riverside-Brookfield posted a 14-7 halftime lead.
"If you play a team like Riverside-Brookfield and you're a much smaller school, you're fighting uphill, you can't make those kinds of mistakes, especially when you're so young," said Aurora Christian coach David Beebe.
"I give (R-B) a lot of credit. They played a solid game. things got away from us in the second half and we've just got to grow up. We're just making too many (mistakes)."
The Bulldogs' go-ahead score seemed to typify the way the game had turned.
When R-B quarterback Diego Gutierrez threw a slant pass to Adam Uriostegui, the Eagles' Owen Hampton leapt and deflected the ball near the 9. The ball continued to travel and Uriostegui caught it for a touchdown with 28.8 seconds before halftime.
"It was the air. I knew I'd already seen that ball 100 times before," Uriostegui said. "The defender jumped a little early, tipped it and it was right there for me to grab."
The Eagles reached the R-B 32-yard line on their first drive of the second half but turned the ball over on downs. The Bulldogs responded with a 68-yard drive capped by a 6-yard touchdown pass to Luke Kumskis, who also rushed for 2 touchdowns.
The Bulldogs' pass defense made 4 pass breakups and 2 interceptions, including standout senior linebacker Drew Swiatek's 25-yard interception return for a touchdown.
Aurora Christian's Hampton caught 6 passes for 92 yards, four from starting quarterback Max Bray and two from Jalen Carter.
"The game of football comes down to about four or five plays, in a tight game. We right now seem to be giving up those plays instead of making those plays and that's the sign of a young team," Beebe said.