With his team’s season at stake and an 11-0 deficit in the first quarter, Thornridge coach Brad Beilfuss had every reason to panic.
After all, his Falcons, who finished the regular season 6-3, weren’t given much of a chance against undefeated No. 10 Shepard in Wednesday’s Class 5A playoff opener. But with 1 minute 25 seconds left in the first half, a ray of hope shone through in the form of a 14-yard touchdown pass from Eric Thigpen to Todd Junior.
And from there, an upset was born.
Thornridge scored twice in the third quarter and then stopped a potential game-tying conversion attempt in the fourth to pull off an 18-17 victory over host Shepard.
“After the first half, we realized we could play with these guys,” said Beilfuss.
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A fumble recovery by Thornridge’s Terrence Mayfield on the Shepard 19 set up the go-ahead touchdown in the third quarter on a 1-yard run by Thigpen.
“That (fumble) turned a lot of the momentum,” Beilfuss said. “That gave us a big swing.”
Still, it took a clutch punt by Thornridge’s Jeff Burks to pin Shepard at its own 2-yard line for the last-gasp drive. Four pass plays went incomplete, and Thornridge went home with the win.
Thornridge’s Justin Bivens set the pace with 86 yards on 19 carries, including a 59-yard burst that set up the Falcons’ final touchdown. Shepard’s Allen Ross was held to 46 yards on 12 carries.
Mt. Carmel 34, Gage Park 0: It’s hard to imagine not being satisfied with a 34-point shutout, but coach Frank Lenti has become accustomed to excellence.
“I’ve always thought that to win the state championship you have to have one game where you play poorly and win,” said Lenti, whose No. 4 Caravan plays host to De La Salle Saturday. “Fortunately for us, it was in the first game.”
Gage Park had the ball for 16 minutes of the first half, compared to Mt. Carmel’s 8. But the Caravan still had a 14-0 lead at the break and it opened the second half with a five-play, 80-yard touchdown march that took only 1:38.
Gage Park’s leading rusher was Taaun Jackson, who gained 104 yards on 19 attempts.
Richards 42, Simeon 28: Richards’ Joe Montgomery carried 30 times for 326 yards and six touchdowns as Richards (7-3) advanced.
“Anytime I saw a hole, I took it,” said Montgomery, who ran for three two-point conversions and scored all of Richards’ points. “My linemen did an extraordinary job. They opened up some huge holes. I give my linemen credit for everything I earned. I could not have done it without them.”
Providence 24, Kankakee 0: After a scoreless first half, No. 19 Providence took control and cruised over Kankakee.
“We moved the ball well in the first half,” said Providence coach Matt Senffner, “but we had some problems (three turnovers). But we were very good in the second half. We held on to the ball and completed some passes. They gave us the middle trap, and Kyle Stalter did a great job. We haven’t run that a lot this year, but we saw it in films, and it was there.”
Stalter was the leading rusher-131 yards on 16 carries. Joe Schley added 98 yards on 17. Each had a touchdown run.
East St. Louis 31, Edwardsville 13: James Buerford rushed for 128 yards and scored on runs of 16 and 75 yards for East St. Louis (8-2).