McFeggan, Streamwood rally for big victory
Streamwood coach Cal Cummins had a few worries early Friday night concerning quarterback Jordan McFeggan.
“He started out a little slow,” said the veteran Sabres coach. “I thought he was holding the ball a little too long, and looking a little too long. But once he calmed down......”
That’s when the noise picked up in the Streamwood stands.
Making his varsity debut, McFeggan rallied the Sabres from a 13-3 deficit by throwing 3 touchdown passes and running for one in a 38-20 triumph in the season opener over host Hoffman Estates at Dennis Garber Stadium.
McFeggan threw touchdown strikes to Blake Holder (10 yards), Sean Patterson (84 yards) and Deji Giwa (15 yards), and with a big block from receiver Noah Polich, scrambled for a 41-yard TD as the Sabres scored 35 unanswered points in a game plagued by 27 penalties.
“Having the kind of receivers we have is a lot of pressure off my shoulders,” McFeggan said. “They’re great athletes. It’s my job to get them the ball.”
With linemen Jake Jewell, Mike Murawski, Zach Pisarek, Evan Klimek and AJ Mitchell providing the protection, McFeegan was 10-of-19 passing for 203 yards and rushed for 92.
“I kind of hoped I’d have a good game, but I was nervous at the beginning and not sure, ”McFeggan said. “But the team did well.”
Despite falling behind 3-0 on Kris Imeri’s 28-yard field goal, Hoffman gained the momentum early and went ahead 13-3 on 1-yard and 24-yard TD runs by senior quarterback Eric Brooks.
Streamwood didn’t get its first TD until Tyler Hendershot scampered 11 yards into the end zone with 7:58 left in the first half, cutting the deficit to 13-10.
“We certainly had the momentum going into the second quarter,” said first-year Hoffman Estates coach Eric Ilich. “It was there for us if we could seize control of it. But we simply didn’t capatilize.
“Streamwood did a good job maintaining its composure. They never got their heads down.”
Hoffman had a chance to go into the locker room leading but Holder made an interception when Hoffman tried a halfback pass with less than the three minutes left in the first half.
Streamwood took over on its own 46 and McFeggan required six plays to get his team into the end zone.
He had a big scramble of 19 yards for a first down with 1:35 left and threw a 10-yard pass to Holder with 11.9 seconds remaining for the 17-13 lead at intermission.
“Our kids got a lesson in football being a game of emotion,” Ilich said. “And now they will be looking to make their biggest improvement to come from week one to week two.”