Time runs out on Marmion's season

First, the team bus arrived 35 minutes late.

Then on the first play from scrimmage, the lights went out on the standard located at the northeast corner of the field.

Marmion's opening possession ended with a failed fourth-and-2 play from the Prairie Ridge 40-yard line. Five plays later, the Wolves scored the game's first touchdown on a 9-yard run by fullback Tim Deering (23 carries, 79 yards).

That typified the kind of night it was for the second-seeded Cadets, who suffered a season-ending, 31-7 loss to No. 10 Prairie Ridge (8-3) during Friday night's second-round Class 6A state playoff game in Crystal Lake.

"We were 35 minutes late getting here and it was all downhill from there," joked Cadets coach Dan Thorpe. "Seriously, we got beat by a better football team tonight. They didn't have one turnover.

"Their kids flew around and played with attitude - offensively and defensively."

With a howling wind at their backs, the Wolves seized momentum early, scoring touchdowns on two of their first three possessions.

Connor Greenwald capped a 5-play, 44-yard drive with a 28-yard TD run down the left sideline to extend the Wolves' lead to 14-0 with 1:27 remaining in the first quarter.

"Getting that early lead was a big boost for us," said Prairie Ridge quarterback Jon Williams, whose 73-yard touchdown run early in the third quarter provided some insurance for the Wolves, who will face either Belvidere North (6-4) or Hubbard (8-2) in quarterfinal action next weekend.

Marmion, which entered into the contest averaging 33 points per game, scored its lone touchdown on a 9-yard run by Nick Scoliere midway through the second quarter that sliced the deficit in half at 14-7.

However, the Wolves responded with a 14-play drive which was capped by Matt Simak's 22-yard field goal with 31 seconds left in the second quarter to make it 17-7 at halftime.

"That was Matt's first field goal of the year and it was a big game-changer for us," said Williams.

Things progressively got worse for the Suburban Christian Conference Blue champions in the second half, as the Cadets fumbled on their first two possessions of the third quarter - the first ending a potential scoring drive at the Wolves' 17.

"That was a vital play," admitted Thorpe.

Justin Henderson's 4-yard touchdown run with 2:08 remaining sealed the outcome as the Wolves' triple option attack helped generate 267 rushing yards.

"We didn't maintain our assignments and that's a credit to number 4 (Williams) and number 33 (Deering)," said Thorpe. "They didn't run one play that we didn't prepare for in practice. They flat out beat us."

The loss ended a memorable season for the Cadets, who captured their first conference championship in 10 years.

"Nobody expected us to win the league (title)," said Thorpe. "We weren't even picked as a darkhorse. All of the credit goes to these seniors and the standard that they have set for Marmion football. They've raised the bar."

"Little mistakes hurt us," said senior tailback Matt Pircon, who led the Cadets with 77 yards on 12 carries. "But we all played our hearts out.

"We're a little more sad than proud right now but we're all proud of what we did for Marmion."