Waubonsie Valley loses in second OT
Six inches short.
But one heck of a Waubonsie Valley comeback.
The Warriors stunned host Homewood-Flossmoor with 21 fourth-quarter points to force overtime and nearly won in the first extra session before falling 34-28 in double overtime in the second round of the Class 8A playoffs.
Demetrius Gray made a diving catch of a Tommy Kolzow pass across the middle on fourth down from the 11-yard line but was tackled by H-F's Sheldon Jones before he could reach the goal line on the game's final play.
“I always fight for my extra yards,” Gray said, “and I thought I got it done. I tried to pull the ball out and cross the plane but you don't want to lose the ball. I tried my best and gave it my all.
“We came out with a loss, but in my mind I think we still won.”
Waubonsie (8-3), seeking its first quarterfinal berth since 1994, didn't look like it had a prayer through three quarters. H-F running back Malik Norman shredded the Warriors for 226 yards on 33 carries, his second touchdown from 15 yards out making it 21-0 Vikings with 5:34 left in the third quarter.
Then things got interesting.
Waubonsie, held to just two first downs in the first half, finally got on the board with 11:25 left in the fourth, Devon Morgan scoring from a yard out.
On H-F's ensuing possession Waubonsie defensive lineman Zac Steele reached up and intercepted Tim Williams' middle screen, returning it 45 yards for a score and 21-13 game.
After stopping H-F (9-2) on fourth-and-goal, Waubonsie tied it with a 17-play, 89-yard drive culminating with Gray's leaping 22-yard touchdown grab over two defenders.
Eric Josupait, who caught 7 passes for 91 yards and ran for 79 more, kept the drive alive with an 8-yard gain on a fourth-and-7, running across the field on a play intended to be a halfback pass. He then hauled in Kolzow's conversion pass to tie things up.
“The outcome didn't turn out the way we wanted it,” Josupait, “but to come back from 21-0 is something I'll always remember. We played our hearts out. I have no regrets tonight.”
Morgan's 1-yard touchdown run on the first possession of overtime gave the Warriors a 28-21 lead.
Waubonsie looked on the verge of the improbable win, but on fourth down from the 10 Williams rolled right on play-action and threw back left across the field to an open tight end Willie Ross for the tying score.
“It's a play I've been running for 25 years,” H-F coach Craig Buzea said of the play with two tight ends crossing, “and it doesn't ever seem to fail.”
“Everything was going in our direction,” Waubonsie coach Paul Murphy said. “We got to make a stop there. They called a nice play and executed it.”
The 6-foot-6 Williams gave his team back the lead on the first play of the second overtime, running in untouched from 10 yards out on the zone read.
“I made a bad decision on their pick 6,” Williams said, “but I told my team, ‘Don't worry about, I'll make up for it later on.' That's what I had to do. It was a battle out here. Waubonsie has a great team.”
Kolzow completed 18 of 27 passes for 210 yards for Waubonsie.
“We were down 21-0,” Murphy said, “and I'm sure everybody gave us up for dead and we came back and tied it with three scores in the fourth quarter. I'm proud as heck of my kids. I feel bad the way it turned out for them.”