Holm lifts Antioch

Antioch senior Vinnie Holm had a lot of things to think about this week as he and the Sequoits prepared for their North Suburban Prairie Division contest against rival Lakes.

At the top of the list was getting the sixth win of the season and earning a playoff berth, but Holm had a few other matters to digest the biggest of which was setting a school record for points in a career.

When Holm booted the extra point following a 65-yard scoring strike from Tom Sears to Brett Prather, the school scoring mark of 285 career points belonged to Holm. More importantly, his final extra point of the night some three minutes later helped the hosts lock up a playoff berth with a 28-14 victory over the visiting Eagles.

"(Vinnie) is a leader, he's a hard worker and a great kid," said Antioch coach Brian Glashagel. "He has really done it in all sorts of ways with touchdowns and extra points and it's a credit to him and the work he has done."

Antioch, which narrowly missed the playoffs last year, is back in the playoffs by virtue of its sixth win of the season. The Sequoits improved to 6-1 overall and 4-1 in the NSC Prairie. Lakes fell to 5-2 overall, 2-2 in the division and must earn one win in its final two games to clinch a playoff spot.

"It's a true team effort every Friday night for this team," Glashagel said. "We have a group of kids that makes plays left and right every night. We are a good team with good playmakers, and it showed again tonight."

For Holm, the final kick to break the record held previously by Cameron White was an emotional one for the three-year varsity starter.

"I almost started to tear up when I kicked it," Holm said. "This was one of my goals at the beginning of the season and I am so happy I did it tonight especially considering all the things here big game, rival and a chance to go to the playoffs."

The play that helped Holm break the record came within a whisker of going the other way.

Leading 14-7 and facing a third and long, Sears rolled to his right and fired a pass deep down the near sideline. Out of nowhere came Lakes junior Donte Arnold. It looked like Arnold might intercept the ball. Instead, Prather grabbed the pass and took it in for a 21-7 lead on the final play of the third quarter.

"I did see (Arnold) jump up but I was concentrating on the ball the whole time," said Prather who hauled in 2 balls for 82 yards and the score.

Lakes pulled to within 14-7 after Arnold capped a brilliant 15-play, 80-yard drive that chewed up 6:31.

"The whole night it felt like we were on the verge of making a play happened and we just didn't when we needed to," Lakes coach Luke Mertens said. "We told the guys, when you are playing a good team like this you can't make costly mistakes or they will make you pay and Antioch made us pay."

Dan Arden opened the scoring for Antioch with a 38-yard run on the Sequoits' first possession. Sam Green then closed out the win for Antioch with a 36-yard scoring run with 7:57 to go.

Stevenson 45, Zion-Benton 7: Playing their second of four straight road games to close out the regular season, the Patriots led only 17-7 at halftime.

But by game's end, the visitors were in command in Zion, as they clinched a share of first place in the North Suburban Lake.

Stevenson improved to 7-0 overall and 5-0 in the division. The Patriots visit Libertyville in their NSC Lake finale next Friday, before playing at Antioch the following week.

"Zion came after us," Stevenson coach Bill McNamara said. "They were well-prepared. They gave us everything we could handle in the first half. We pulled it together in the second half to win the game."

Offensively for Stevenson, Stephen Salata caught 2 touchdown passes from Kevin Earl, Christopher Fisher rushed for 2 TDs, and Anthony Bozin returned the second-half kickoff for a score. Nathan Kahn added a TD run.

Joe Squaglia led the Patriots in tackles, while Carteen Raaum intercepted a pass. Brion Wood forced a fumble that Jon Way recovered.

Zion-Benton (0-7, 0-4) remained winless.

Lake Forest 55, Mundelein 20: The visiting Scouts snapped a two-game losing streak and became playoff-eligible with their fifth win.

Lake Forest (5-2) improved to 3-2 in the North Suburban Lake.

Mundelein fell to 0-7 and 0-4. It was the highest offensive output of the season for the Mustangs.