CL South spoils Jacobs' upset bid
Jacobs coach Bill Mitz wasn't thinking about kicking the extra point if his Golden Eagles scored on a drive that would have cut Crystal Lake South's lead to 21-20 late in the fourth quarter.
"I think we had them on their heels," Mitz said, whose team had Class 7A's 7th ranked team on the ropes. "We were thinking about what 2-point play we were going to run down there."
But it remained a thought. A 4th-down throw by quarterback Jason Judson was batted away at the goal line by South's Drew Ormseth and the Gators escaped with a 28-14 victory over Fox Valley Conference rival Jacobs in a Valley Division game in Algonquin Friday night.
South improved to 6-0, while knowing a 28-14 final didn't really show the state of flux the game was in all night.
"(Jacobs) didn't lay down after we started fast, they kept fighting, which is a tribute to their coaching staff and their kids," Gators coach Chuck Ahsmann said. "So you have to give them awful lot of credit. We got the lead and laid back a little and if we learn from that, that's a positive.
"We got on our heels a little bit, we didn't match their intensity. We had the lead, it was a matter of staying calm. It wasn't a matter of being fired up, it was stay calm, don't give up the big play and make 'em use up the clock. And we did that."
Jacobs (3-3, 0-2) came out a completely different squad in the second half after Kenny King scored on a 68-yard pass play from Ormseth, South's last offensive score in the second quarter with 2:33 remaining. Jacobs allowed South a total of 15 second-half plays for 32 total yards, and kept running the ball with Caz Zyks, who finished with 127 yards on 26 carries and 2 touchdowns.
His 3-yard score capped a 16-play, 64-yard drive with 47 seconds in the third quarter which Jacobs believing down 21-14.
"We knew we were competing with them," Zyks said. "We said at the half we just got to go out there, compete with them, play as hard as we can and just battle out there with them."
Zyks' TD fired up the Jacobs defense, and a four-and-out by South put the comeback in reach with 10:51 left on their own 31.
For the second time during the half, Jacobs sucked up the clock for more than 6 minutes. The Eagles converted two huge fourth down plays on that drive, one in their territory and one on the South 37 when Jason Judson scrambled on for 10 yards, getting Jacobs to the CLS 25 under 5:00 remaining. On its' third fourth down try from the CLS 30, Judson's heave toward the end zone intended for Zyks was knocked away by Ormseth.
"I just reacted to it I guess. I didn't think it was coming to me. (Judson) rolled right and usually quarterbacks don't throw back side and just made a play," Ormseth said, who threw two touchdown passes to King (4 catches, 83 yards) in the first half.
Jacobs' last shot with 37 seconds on their own 15 was insult to injury as Brad Walovitch returned an interception 35-yards to pay dirt. South's defense came up when it needed the most, on that play and Ormseth's.
Jacobs held one of the best teams in the area to 243 total yards, 3 scores on 8 drives and Ormseth to just 93 yards passing, 6 yards rushing. Jacobs rushed for 191 on the ground, 227 total and allowed no passing yards in the second half.
"We asked the kids to play with a lot of pride and we battled a very good team," Mitz said. "Our guys will be ready to go again."
Running back Bolek Mikulec led the Gators with 113 yards rushing.