Oswego’s Brian Grider awoke Friday morning thinking his team’s game against undefeated Batavia would be decided by a field goal–his field goal.
This may explain why Grider was confident he could win the game in the closing seconds Friday night in Batavia.
Grider, who also is the goalkeeper for the Oswego soccer team and plays for a national team, kicked a 28-yard field goal with 4 seconds left to lift Oswego (3-2, 1-0) to a 24-21 victory over Batavia (4-1, 0-1) in its Suburban Prairie Red opener.
“It felt good as soon as I kicked it,” Grider said.
A 27-yard pass from Chris Silagi to Bobby Miller put Oswego in Batavia territory. Runs of 11 and 15 yards set up Grider’s game-winner.
Aaron Gale sparked Oswego with TD runs of 1, 2 and 9 yards. Batavia was led by quarterback Dave Rakow, who was 10 of 19 for 149 yards and a TD.
Jacobs 28, Crystal Lake Central 26: Derek McShane, who had missed field-goal attempts of 30 and 37 yards, kicked a 45-yarder with 4 seconds left to lift Jacobs (2-3, 2-3) in the Fox Valley. On fourth and 10 from Central’s 45-yard line with 39 seconds left, Scott Drafall completed a 17-yard pass to Mark Ryczek to set up the kick.
“When it went through, I was so happy–I loved it,” McShane said. “It was the best feeling of my life. My teammates boosted me back up after the misses; they had a lot of faith and trust in me.”
Chicago Christian 27, Peotone 0: Anthony Thompson scored on a 1-yard run and a 65-yard pass from Doug Stoub for Chicago Christian (5-0, 2-0) in the Private School League. The Knights, whose last winning season was 17 years ago, are off to their first 5-0 start in school history.
Schaumburg 18, Rolling Meadows 7: Schaumburg (3-2, 1-0), playing without injured quarterback Kurt Kittner, won the Mid-Suburban South opener behind Pierre Griffin, who rushed 24 times for 151 yards and a TD. Eric Oscarson (5 for 14, 24 yards), Kittner’s backup, left the game with 7 minutes to go with bruised ribs. Oscarson threw a 9-yard TD pass to Scott Steger but was intercepted twice. Rolling Meadows dropped to 1-4, 0-1.
Lane Tech 34, Young 12: Lane (3-2, 2-0 Public Illini North) handed Young (4-1, 1-1) its first loss. Israel Diaz (19 carries, 94 yards, two TDs) and QB Eric Reza (8 for 10, 78 yards), who threw two TD passes, led the way. Lane, up 20-12 after three quarters, put the game away with 5:14 to go when Jason Blue connected with Randy Williams for a 67-yard TD pass on a halfback option play.
Barrington 28, Wheeling 12: Dan Pohlman gained 117 yards and three TDs on 20 carries for Barrington (5-0, 1-0 Mid-Suburban North), which led 21-6 after three quarters. Scott Sagehorn completed seven of nine passes for 138 yards and threw a touchdown pass to Kyle Derickson. (five catches, 105 yards). The Broncos (5-0, 1-0) were hit with 10 penalties for 90 yards, and a touchdown by Pohlman was called back in the Mid-Suburban North opener. Wheeling fell to 2-3, 0-1.
Libertyville 21, Mundelein 7: Quarterback J.C. Harrington (11 for 18, 170 yards) had a 10-yard run on a bootleg and threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Brian Hamlett to lead the Wildcats (4-1, 3-0) to the North Suburban victory. Chris Pfiffer’s 6-yard TD run sealed the outcome.
Marist 14, Gordon Tech 0: In a Catholic Metro crossover, Marist (3-2) beat Gordon Tech (2-3) behind Michael Hurley, who scored on runs of two and 15 yards. Defensively, Andy Rybak had two sacks and six tackles for the RedHawks.
Notre Dame 30, Brother Rice 0: Rick Cieplik scored two TDs for Notre Dame (4-1) in its shutout of Brother Rice (3-2). John Harrington and Pat Ryan each had eight tackles on defense.
Amundsen 20, Sullivan 0: Sergio Menendez ran for a pair of second-half touchdowns to lead Amundsen (4-1, 2-0 Public Northeast) past Sullivan (0-5, 0-2).
Robeson 35, Bogan 7: Richard Pickens (157 rushing yards) scored three TDs and Kenneth Kendricks (20 and 23 yards) added two scores to lead Robeson (4-1, 1-1) past Bogan (1-4, 0-2) in the Public Illini Southwest. Ricky Simon connected with Levi Adams for Bogan’s lone score.
Steinmetz 2, Taft 0: Steinmetz’s Keith Dickinson rushed for 147 yards, but a botched Taft punt in the end zone that resulted in a safety was all the Streaks (1-4, 1-1) needed for their first victory. Taft is 1-4 and 0-2 in the Public Illini North.
Carver 36, Fenger 0: Rodney Donnely rushed 23 times for 152 yards and one TD, and Corie Stevenson (6 for 15, 90 yards) scored two TDs on quarterback sneaks for Carver (3-2, 1-1 Public Southeast).
St. Patrick 39, Weber 6: Forrest Daniels sparked the Shamrocks (2-3) to the non-conference victory as he ran the ball 22 times for 170 yards and four touchdowns.
Lake Park 38, DeKalb 0: Joe DeFrain completed TD passes to Joe Reeves and Ryan Smith, and Jonathan Peacock ran for a score and threw for another to lead Lake Park (3-2, 1-2) in the Upstate Eight.
Thornton Fractional South 19, Eisenhower 14: Mark Padjen (17 of 27 for 230 yards) threw for two touchdowns and ran for another as T.F. South (3-2, 2-1) prevailed over Eisenhower (3-2, 1-2) in the SICA Orange. His 1-yard quarterback sneak on the first play of the fourth quarter gave the Rebels a 19-7 lead. Dave Ray had five receptions for 77 yards, including an 11-yard TD catch.
Andrew 28, Romeoville 12: Jerrod Howard (8 for 10, 196 yards) scored on a 1-yard keeper and Tim Brach (23 carries, 110 yards) added two touchdowns for Andrew (4-1, 3-0), which jumped to a 21-6 halftime lead in the SICA Gray. Nick Przesniak had eight tackles for the Thunderbolts, who held Romeoville (3-2, 2-1) to just four yards in the first quarter.
Rich South 45, Thornton Fractional North 20: Dan Urban threw two touchdown passes and ran for another to lead the Stars (2-3, 1-2) to the SICA Green victory against T.F. North (1-4, 0-3). Greg Lewis (three catches, 120 yards) caught two touchdown passes, including a 20-yarder from Urban.
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Bradley-Bourbonnais 35, Reavis 16: Luke Hadders had 22 carries for 201 yards and two TDs to guide Bradley (2-3, 1-2) past Reavis (1-4, 0-3 SICA Gray).
Bremen 64, Hirsch 6: Jesse Isom threw TD passes of 48 and 20 yards to lead Bremen (5-0) in the non-conference rout of Hirsch (0-4).
Homewood-Flossmoor 42, Shepard 6: Behind QB Trey Harrington (26 for 35, 291 yards, four TDs) and receivers Chris Oliver (104 yards, two TDs) and Bret Bailey (82 yards, one TD), the Vikings (3-2, 2-1) cruised to the SICA Gray victory.
“We’ve been looking for this offense to break out,” Viking coach Tom Bailey said. “We’ve been patient, and it finally happened.”
Jacobs 28, Crystal Lake Central 26: Derek McShane, who had missed field-goal attempts of 30 and 37 yards, kicked a 45-yarder with 4 seconds left to lift Jacobs (2-3, 2-3) in the Fox Valley. On fourth and 10 from Central’s 45-yard line with 39 seconds left, Scott Drafall completed a 17-yard pass to Mark Ryczek to set up the kick.
“When it went through, I was so happy–I loved it,” McShane said. “It was the best feeling of my life.
“My teammates boosted me back up after the misses; they had a lot of faith and trust in me.”
York 14, Downers Grove North 0: Vince Lucca hit Kirk Flowers with a 15-yard touchdown pass just 1:03 into the game. Chris Anderson added a 3-yard TD run late in the first quarter for York (4-1, 3-0) in the West Suburban Silver victory.
Anderson wound up with 137 yards on 25 carries.
“We had some excellent plays by the secondary on knockdowns,” York coach Gary Grouwinkel said. “That really helped our defensive plan. Field position helped us too.”
Morris 47, Geneva 6: Matt Curran (15 carries, 171 yards) scored four TDs to lead Morris (3-2, 1-0) in the Suburban Prairie White.
Lemont 23, Elmwood Park 16: Behind two touchdown runs by Adam Anderson, the Injuns (2-3, 1-0) won their Suburban Prairie White opener over Elmwood Park (2-3, 0-1). Nick Bromberek added a 75-yard touchdown run for Lemont.
Coal City 21, Seneca 0: After 18 minutes of scoreless play, Brian Fitzgerald, John Gockman and Brian Yanates all scored touchdowns for the Coalers (3-2, 2-1 Interstate Eight).
Dunbar 42, Simeon 12: Rausell Harvey ran for 247 yards and three touchdowns, leaving him 10 yards shy of the state career rushing record of 5,626 yards, as the Condors (3-2, 2-0 Illini South) routed the Wolverines (4-1, 1-1) before 6,000 fans at Gately Stadium.
Crystal Lake South 7, Prairie Ridge 6: Paul Cosman’s 32-yard touchdown pass from Tim Padjen and Mike Piumbroeck’s point-after kick gave the Gators (1-4, 1-4) the Fox Valley victory.
Harvard 29, Ottawa Marquette 0: Joey McCarthy had touchdown runs or 10 and 12 yards in the Big Northern Red victory for the Hornets (4-1, 1-0).
For the game, McCarthy ran the ball 31 times for 260 yards. Tim Zell (18 carries, 162 yards) had a pair of touchdown runs.
Grant 6, Wauconda 2: In non-conference action, Jason Wolf scored the lone touchdown on a 1-yard run for the Bulldogs (2-3).