Neuqua Valley defeats Hinsdale Central
There were great scoring plays on both sides, but the winning touchdown in Saturday's Neuqua Valley playoff win over host Hinsdale Central was a wild, hard-to-explain one.
With No. 19 Neuqua Valley (7-3) leading 22-19 to start the fourth quarter, the Wildcats marched 80 yards for what proved to be the game-winning touchdown. The long drive was capped by a second-down play from the Red Devils' 8-yard line that saw Wildcats running back Greg McClellan drop a pitch, unintentionally kick it toward the goal line and after it bounced and skipped through the arms of a Hinsdale Central defender, was scooped up by McClellan at the 2 as he dove into the end zone.
"A little spooky. A little scary. Just the way I drew it up," Neuqua Valley coach Bill Ellinghaus said. "I couldn't believe it. One bounce went our way tonight and it just so happened to be the winning touchdown."
The Wildcats lost a fumble and threw an interception in the first half, which helped the No. 14 Red Devils (7-3) pull to within 14-13 at the half after a 27-yard field goal by Brady Graber. But on this crazy play with 6:43 left in the fourth quarter, what was almost a costly turnover turned out to be the biggest play. The Wildcats advanced to host a second-round matchup next weekend with rival Waubonsie Valley.
"We focus on finishing plays and I was lucky enough it bounced the way it did," McClellan said of the strange play. "I'm pretty sure their guy just didn't pick it up and I was lucky enough to be there. I saw the ball coming. I looked outside and took my eye off the ball so I could see what defenders were coming and how my blocks were going to be set up … then I guess it hit my foot. I don't really remember. And their guy kinda dove right over it and I was lucky to be there."
Ellinghaus said once the ball came back to McClellan that he just hoped his player would jump on the loose ball. But he did even better.
"He did keep his eye on the ball as he booted it, and he kept coming after it and I think one of their guys jumped on it and it squirted out," the Wildcats coach said. "Then I'm just like 'Fall on it', and he scooped and scored. It's one of those Halloween nights."
The Red Devils, who got 144 yards and 2 touchdowns from Christian Bobak and who led 19-14 following the second of Bobak's scores in the third quarter, did manage a comeback.
Hinsdale Central quarterback Josh Bean led a drive to close to within 29-25. He converted a fourth-and-10 play, fumbled on a run that was recovered by a teammate, and capped the drive with a pretty 9-yard pass to Kareem Muhammad in the corner of the end zone.
But the Wildcats, who used eight ball carriers, kept the football and close the game. Nick Osikowicz led the ground attack with 113 yards on 20 carries, while star receiver Isaiah Robertson had two dazzling touchdown catches and also grabbed a 2-point conversion pass from Jack Stankhoven.
It was a tough loss for Bobak and his teammates to stomach. Bobak ran hard all night and put his team on top with an 11-yard TD run on fourth-and one with 8:26 to go in the third quarter.
"I think we did a good job of staying alive and just fighting with everything we had," the senior said. "We had some plays and we gave up some plays. But when it came down to it, it was just luck. Pure luck. They got lucky on that play. But ultimately we didn't execute when we had to."