Driscoll breaks away in fourth quarter
Driscoll rolled on in its quest for an eighth straight state championship, but it got a run for its money in the Class 4A playoff opener Saturday.
That challenge came from Herscher, a Kankakee-area school from the Interstate Eight Conference. Herscher came into Addison as a heavy underdog but kept the game close for three quarters, forcing 4 turnovers.
Tradition-laden Driscoll finished well, though, winning the contest 42-14. It was just what the Highlanders needed after losing 14-13 to Montini last week in the regular-season finale.
"It definitely helped," said Driscoll senior Austin Baker, who caught 3 balls for 110 yards and 2 touchdowns.
"We were all disappointed last week, so to come out here and get a win and to be home next week, that's big for us."
The Highlanders (8-2) will be home again thanks to Mendota, which upset Chicago Leo on Saturday and will now travel to Addison for the second-round game.
Driscoll secured the first-round win with a multi-pronged attack. Quarterback Steve Schwabe threw for more than 300 yards in the first half and finished 17 of 22 for 327 yards and 3 touchdowns with 1 interception. He led a 64-yard drive just before halftime that took just 30 seconds and ended with Baker's second score, giving Driscoll a 28-7 lead.
On the ground, meanwhile, junior Nick Campanella rushed 24 times for 215 yards and 3 touchdowns as the Highlanders amassed well more than 500 yards of total offense.
"You have to be balanced," said Driscoll coach Brandon New, who said he would concentrate on fixing "little things" in practice this week. "You have to be able to run the ball to win the football game."
Herscher (5-5) had difficulty running the ball but came out with a spread offense that found some holes in the Driscoll defense. Tigers quarterback Jace Koerner completed 21 of 44 passes for 286 yards, including touchdown tosses to Eric Tobey and Steve O'Connor. The one to O'Connor, a 4-yarder midway through the third quarter, cut Driscoll's lead to 28-14.
Herscher put together another long drive on its next possession, threatening to make it a one-score game, but the drive stalled at the 19-yard line as Driscoll's defense tighened. Koerner was sacked by Jake Randich on fourth down to return the ball to the Highlanders.
"It's a tremendous program here," Herscher coach Dan Wetzel said. "We just wanted to come in and play hard-nosed, 48-minute football. We felt if we could do that we could leave here with heads held high, and I think we did. We've kind of been building bit by bit, and we want to keep building."