Prospect 14, Buffalo Grove 0
Between the turnovers and the teardrops on the Buffalo Grove sideline there were the touchdowns celebrated.
On the Prospect sideline.
The Knights put themselves in position for a playoff berth with their 14-0 Mid-Suburban East win Friday night at BG, a game that sent Bison coach Rich Roberts home.
For good as a head coach, beaten by three-time Knight state-championship coach Brent Pearlman, who, more than 20 years ago, played linebacker at BG under the direction of then-defensive coordinator Rich Roberts.
"Buffalo Grove always has had a great football tradition," said Pearlman, whose Knights finished the regular season 5-4 overall, 3-2 in the MSL EaSt, hoping they have enough IHSA points to qualify for the 7A playoffs.
They had enough ground game Friday night, 285 yards worth of it, 273 of those between tailback Patrick Mack and quarterback Miles Osei.
Mack's 44-yard bolt in the first quarter right up the middle, and his 87-yard dash on an option left in the second, with the Knights basically just trying to run out the clock, accounted for all the scoring.
"We really had a great week of practice," he said after gaining 180 yards on just 14 carries. "We talked about they were going to have a lot of emotion. We had to come out and take the emotion away."
They pretty much did, pounding BG's defense with the run and stifling BG's offense with the turnover, four of them, all interceptions, two by Patrick Ziegenfuss, one by Brendon Smith and one by Mike Przespolewski.
"Our defensive coaches, they schemed incredibly. Our kids were solid in the zone (defense)," said Pearlman, limiting BG to 194 total yards and harassing quarterback John Bakun into a 5-of-21 night for 69 yards.
The Knights' Mike Maratea, Nick Carlson, Austin Sobey and Tim Scanlan kept Bakun scrambling.
BG (4-5, 3-2) did have an effective weapon in junior running back Josh Hampton (16 carries, 81 yards), but Prospect kept tabs on him, too.
"They did a good job defending Hampton," said Roberts, who could only wish he had some of the All America-level talent out there playing as came out to honor him, including former NFL defensive tackle Don Thorp and star linebacker Jim Wagner from the '86 state-championship team.
"Our defense has carried this team all year long," said wide receiver Paul Timko, who only came out for football as a sophomore after experiencing Roberts' enthusiasm in gym class. Despite Prospect's stingy defensive effort, he caught 2 passes for 44 yards.
He said he'd "cherish everyday" as the legacy and memory he'd take away from having played for Roberts.
"Their kids still play proud," said Pearlman, who did once himself.