Winning kick was special family moment for Illini’s Olano

This has been a good year for suburban kickers.

First, Vernon Hills High School graduate Andre Szmyt hit a 55-yard field goal at the buzzer to give the Cleveland Browns a 13-10 win over the Packers on Sept. 21.

Last Saturday, Naperville North's David Olano buried a 41-yarder to send Illinois to a 34-32 walk-off victory over USC in Champaign.

Olano's journey to becoming a clutch college kicker is interesting. His father, Gustavo, grew up in a serious soccer household in Colombia. He came to the United States a few decades ago for graduate school and decided to stay due to an enticing job offer.

Naturally, David and older brother Pablo became soccer players. Halfway through high school, David decided to give American football a shot and quickly emerged as one of the nation's top kicking prospects. Scholarships straight out of high school are rare for kickers, but Olano received one after attending an Illini specialist camp.

He's hit 23 of 27 field goals for Illinois the past two seasons. USC was not his first game-winner. He hit a 41-yarder to beat Metea Valley as a junior at Naperville North, his first season playing football.

USC scored a touchdown to take the lead with 1:55 left, plenty of time for the Illinois offense to find field-goal range.

“It's not until they score and we get the ball back with less than two (minutes), you see heads turn toward you,” Olano told reporters after the game. “You kind of know when you're on. It's one of those special moments, I've always dreamed about it. I'm just grateful to be a part of it.”

Olano credited long snapper Patrick Mahoney (Glenbrook North) and holder Keelan Crimmins for allowing him to stay calm, cool and collected during the do-or-die kick.

“I know the team trusts me,” Olano said. “I know I trust the offense to go down there and get me into position. In that moment, it's just another kick with Pat, Keelan and I, just countless kicks and training we've done. Being with those guys and the trust I have in them definitely calmed my nerves.”

Even better, as students swarmed the field after the kick went through, Olano celebrated with Gustavo and Pablo, who was wearing his brother's jersey.

“In the heat of the moment, I saw everyone come in, I didn't think I was going to see them, but they found a way to get to me,” David said. “It was a super cool moment because of what we've been through and how I got into the sport and the support they've given me the last four years. I was super grateful to share that moment with them.”

BenU breaks

After snapping Aurora's 46-game conference win streak, the next goal for Benedictine was to avoid a letdown. That part didn't work out, as the Eagles lost on the road to Concordia (Wisconsin) 28-20 in double overtime last Saturday.

A tough moment for Benedictine, after scoring first in overtime, Concordia was flagged for a personal foul and began its OT drive with a first-and-25 at the 40-yard line but scored in two plays. The Eagles eventually failed on fourth-and-7 at the 9-yard line to end the game in the second OT.

Aurora, meanwhile, got back on track with a 66-0 victory at Eureka, using a new quarterback, Liam Mickle from Woodstock. Benedictine hosts Rockford on Saturday, while Aurora visits Lakeland.

Little Brass Bell at stake

The annual Battle for the Little Brass Bell takes place Saturday when Wheaton visits North Central. This games marks a rare milestone for Wheaton, which will have faced the Nos. 1 and 2 teams in Division III in its first four games.

The Thunder lost to No. 2 Mount Union 37-29 in the season opener. Since then, Wheaton has rolled past Augustana 50-7 and Carroll 61-13. Top-ranked North Central (3-0) hasn't lost a regular-season game since Wheaton's last victory in the series, 35-21 in 2019.

Wheaton has had players win CCIW defensive player of the week twice in a row — defensive back Colin Moore (Wheaton Warrenville South) and defensive lineman Rex Kroger (Wheaton North).

Redbird revival

No. 6 Illinois State will host one of the highest-ranked matchups in school history on Saturday night when No. 1 North Dakota State travels to Normal (6 p.m., ESPN-plus).

This one is almost identical to a game on Oct. 5, 2019, when No. 6 ISU hosted No. 1 NDSU and lost 37-3.