Huskies can't kick Marist

Understated and devastating, three words stung on a cold and sleety night.

"Just another kick."

It's what Marist kicker Ben Falloon had to say after his 21-yard field goal gave the RedHawks a stunning 28-25 overtime win over Naperville North in Friday's Class 8A second-round football game.

The slick conditions at Lisle's Benedictine University caused havoc in the kicking game before that point - the Huskies (10-1) missed two extra points and a field goal while Marist (9-2) missed one extra point and had two blocked.

Combined with two Marist touchdowns in the final 2:10 of the fourth quarter that sent the game to overtime, it all made for a crazy night in Lisle.

After the No. 7 RedHawks stopped No. 2 Naperville North on third- and fourth-down pass plays from the 4-yard line on the first overtime possession, the Huskies held Marist to a fourth-and-goal at the 3.

Naperville North called timeout to ice Falloon, but the sophomore calmly booted the ball through the uprights for the victory.

Just minutes earlier - with five seconds left in the fourth quarter - a slew of Huskies defenders blocked Falloon's extra-point attempt that would have won the game had it been good.

Falloon simply shook it off.

"You can't think about that," he said. "You just set yourself up for failure."

Behind 5 forced turnovers Naperville North burst to a 25-13 lead with 9:19 left in the fourth quarter following quarterback Matt Manade's 1-yard touchdown sneak, his second of the game.

Marist marched to the Huskies' 2-yard line on its next possession, but Danny Sagen's interception in the end zone kept the RedHawks off the scoreboard.

The Huskies then caught a break when a fourth-down penalty against Marist kept their possession going, but on the next play Naperville North fumbled the ball back to the RedHawks.

Converting two third-down plays and a fourth-and-15, Marist pulled within 25-19 with 2:10 left on Mike Perrish's 5-yard pass to Luke Duffy - a score that remained after a missed extra point.

Disaster struck the Huskies on the ensuing kickoff when the onside attempt bounced off a Naperville North player and was recovered by Marist's P.J. Serratorre.

On fourth-and-goal at the 1 with time running out, Marist running back Bill Seiler, who rushed for 113 yards on 24 carries, took a pitch from Perrish and jogged untouched into the end zone to tie the game.

"We came out firing, and it seemed like it never went our way," said Manade, who completed 10 of 16 passes for 141 yards. "You can't blame it on one person. The whole team just... we gave it away. We had it in our hands and didn't put the nail in the coffin."

When the Huskies blocked the extra point to send the game to overtime, hopes stayed high.

But not for long. Falloon's game-winner ended Naperville North's dream of winning a second straight Class 8A title.

The RedHawks advance to next week's state quarterfinals to play No. 6 Mt. Carmel (9-2).

"We had a lot of opportunities and we didn't really take advantage of them," said Huskies running back Nick Mlady, who had 38 of the team's 128 rushing yards. "It didn't go our way, but everyone played their hearts out."

Naperville North jumped ahead 13-0 on touchdown runs by Pat Waite and Manade. Marist closed within 13-7 by halftime on a 19-yard pass from Perrish, who threw for 190 yards, to Nick Valla.

Marist tied the score at the start of the third quarter, but Waite and Manade again scored on short touchdown runs to put the Huskies on top 25-13.

Everything seemed to be going the Huskies' way at that point, and then everything seemed to fall apart in the final minutes of the fourth quarter.

"The ball just did not bounce our way," said Huskies coach Larry McKeon. "You know, you have some of those nights sometimes. And tonight was definitely one of them."