Libertyville thrilled with outcome vs. Warren
Friday night's North Suburban Conference opener was a real roller coaster ride for both host Libertyville and Warren on Friday night.
The host Wildcats dominated time of possession in the first half, but losing three fumbles led to the Blue Devils only trailing 21-20 at halftime.
Then the second half turned out to be a defensive struggle, with a scoreless third quarter leading up to a wild finish and an exciting 28-26 NSC victory for Libertyville.
Leading 21-20 late in the fourth quarter, the Wildcats (2-1) marched down the field against the worn-out Warren defense as a 13-yard TD run by Libertyville junior running back Brendan Bazar and the extra point kick by Matt Rudolphi made the score 28-20 with 2:37 to play.
The Blue Devils did not fold at that desperate point of the contest however as senior quarterback Luke Schmitt started an impressive drive at the Warren 29-yard-line.
A 17-yard pass to junior James Short got the drive rolling before a 12-yard pass to junior Micah Jones took the ball down to the Libertyville 24-yard line six plays later.
Then with the whole game on the line, Schmitt found senior Jalin Tolbert wide open near the right sideline as Tolbert scored on the 24-yard TD pass to cut the lead to 28-26 with 1:03 to play.
But Warren would need to convert the crucial 2-point conversion to force a potential overtime. And with nobody open, Schmitt's 2-point conversion run fell just short of the goal line as the Wildcats held on for the exciting 28-26 win.
Bazar had a huge game for Libertyville with 202 yards rushing on 28 carries while senior teammate Jason Tse added 86 yards on 14 attempts for the Wildcats' potent ground attack.
"We really showed our team's grit not to let anything get to us and we kind of know how to play in tough situations," said Bazar, whose team lost a tough triple overtime game to Batavia last weekend. "I think we found a gameplan that really worked for us, we stuck to it, and our offensive line did a great job."
Turnovers spelled doom for Libertyville early on as quarterback Jack Ruskell was stripped of the football at the Blue Devils' 29. Warren's Jake Lange raced 71 yards in the other direction for the touchdown before the extra point by Brandon Hergenreder made the score 7-0 before the Warren offense had even touched the ball.
On the next possession, Ruskell was really hit hard and he lost the fumble to Warren's Taylor Krause, but the Blue Devils could not capitalize on that turnover.
A bad snap over the punter's head lead to great field position and a short, 31-yard scoring drive for the Wildcats. Tse scored on a 2-yard TD run before Rudolphi's extra point made the score 7-7 early in the second quarter.
Warren answered right back on the ensuing kickoff as senior Jayson Dorsey first ran right before heading through traffic to the left and down the left sideline for an 88-yard TD return and a 14-7 lead.
The back-and-forth battle saw Libertyville respond with a 42-yard TD run by Bazar to tie the game at 14-14 with 4:47 left in the first half.
Then the wild contest featured an 11-yard TD pass from Warren quarterback Ian Schilling over the middle to Lucas Richey as Schilling and Schmitt split duties under center for the better part of the game. But a missed extra point proved to be crucial as Warren only led 20-14 with 19.4 seconds left in the first half.
A huge kickoff return by Libertyville's Patrick Conway put the ball on the Warren 32 with just 8.6 seconds left in the second quarter.
And miraculously, Ruskell lofted a 32-yard TDpass over a Warren defender and into the hands of teammate Joe Hohner in the right corner of the end zone for a 21-20 lead with just 2.8 seconds left in the wild first half.
"It was a strange game in that first half, but Warren is a good team and they are physical," said Libertyville coach Mike Jones. "We had a tough one last week, and to be in the same situation and come out with a win is huge."
It was a bitter pill to swallow for the Blue Devils, but there were a lot of positives for coach Bryan McNulty to fall back on.
"I'm proud of my kids, they fought and we had a chance to win it," said McNulty, whose team was led by Melvin Pettis with 41 yards rushing on 8 carries. "The kids didn't stop playing and we just have to regroup and get better to come out on top against Lake Forest."