Riding a two-game losing streak into the playoffs, Andrew coach Mike O’Neill admitted his Thunderbolts looked “really awful.”
But after Friday night’s 20-16 victory over No. 6 Waubonsie Valley (8-2) in the first round of the 6A playoffs in Aurora, O’Neill changed his tune.
“We got our spirit and heart back,” said O’Neill, whose team improved to 7-3.
Host Waubonsie led 13-7 at halftime but was limited to a Justin Slais field goal after recovering an Andrew fumble to open the third quarter.
“That was key,” O’Neill said of keeping the Warriors out of the end zone.
T.J. Miller, who rushed for 110 yards, scored the first of his two touchdowns, a 3-yard run in the third quarter, to pull the Thunderbolts within 16-13. Miller then scored on another 3-yarder in the fourth, set up by Todd Kozlowski’s interception, for the game-winner.
Slais (27 carries, 193 yards, two TDs) was stopped an inch and a half away from a first down on Waubonsie’s last drive to seal the victory for Andrew.
Naperville Central 27, Streamwood 6: D.J. Johnson (22 carries, 118 yards) had touchdown runs of 2 and 14 yards to spark the No. 9 Redhawks (9-1) to the first-round victory. Nick Tolbert, who also caught a 12-yard touchdown pass from Christian Pearson, added a 14-yard run on a reverse for Naperville Central. Scott Brown hit Jonas Mares with a 24-yard touchdown pass to account for the only score for Streamwood (6-4).
Addison Trail 15, Fremd 7: Taso Nikolauo rushed 23 times for 97 yards and two touchdowns to lead No. 15 Addison Trail (9-1) to its seventh straight victory. Nikolauo accounted for all but one of the Blazers’ points, scoring on a 5-yard run in the first quarter and a 4-yarder in the second, followed by a two-point conversion run. Stanford-bound Brian Taylor chipped in with 73 yards on 19 carries for the Blazers, who ran the ball 52 times and threw only twice. Fremd, which lost its last four games, finished 6-4.
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Downers Grove South 43, Lane Tech 6: The 16th-ranked Mustangs (9-1) cruised to the first-round victory over Lane (6-4) as Marcus Moore rushed for 116 yards and two touchdowns. Host Downers South used a 20-point first quarter, highlighted by Pat Marek’s 73-yard interception return, to take a 36-0 halftime lead.
Stevenson 34, New Trier 28: Playing his first game in a month, Curtis Zervic lofted a 9-yard touchdown pass to Steve Strubbe with 46 seconds left to lift No. 17 Stevenson (9-1) to a come-from-behind victory over visiting New Trier (6-4). The late score was set up by Bryan Adorjan, who pounced on an onsides kick with just over 2 minutes to play. Adorjan’s recovery came after Stevenson pulled to within 28-26 on a 17-play, 80-yard drive that ended on Warren McKay’s 2-yard touchdown run.
Barrington 24, Downers Grove North 21: Scott Sagehorn completed 14 of 23 passes for 150 yards and two TDs to lead Barrington (8-2) to its first playoff victory since 1984. Downers North entered the fourth quarter with a three-point lead, but Barrington ran repeated draw plays until Sagehorn finally hit Matt Ruffino for the game-winner with 7:15 to play. Dan Pohlman rushed for 100 yards for the Broncos, and Sagehorn added 44.
“We were up 21-18 going into the fourth quarter and we had the wind,” Downers North coach Pete Ventrelli said. “That’s exactly where we wanted to be. But we couldn’t get to the quarterback, and then the draw killed us.”
York 22, St. Charles 7: Touchdown runs of 3 and 6 yards by Chris Anderson lifted No. 13 York (9-1) to the victory over St. Charles (6-4). Kirkland Flowers’ 27-yard touchdown catch accounted for the other Duke score.
Homewood-Flossmoor 14, Moline 7: Quarterback Trey Harrington scored the winning touchdown in the fourth quarter as H-F (7-3) escaped with a first-round victory over Moline (8-2).
Class 5A
Cary-Grove 21, Bolingbrook 14: Cary-Grove’s Larry Pandocchi rushed 28 times for a career-high 184 yards, and the Trojans’ defense kept running back Antoineo Harris in check in the second half. Most of Pandocchi’s yards came on second efforts after he shed would-be tacklers. Harris broke loose for an early 30-yard touchdown run and 93 first-half yards, but the senior managed only 15 yards in the second half on six carries. The Raiders (7-3) also had a 96-yard kickoff return to open the second half called back because of a holding penalty. The teams battled to a 14-14 tie through three quarters before Cary (9-1) scored what proved to be the game-winner early in the fourth when Rashad McDade scooted in the from the 4.
Minooka 40, Collins 0: Minooka (9-1) scored 27 first-half points and never let up in the 5A playoff opener. Ryan Kluck fell on a Collins fumble in the end zone early in the first quarter for Minooka’s first score. Ryan Koerner had a 12-yard touchdown run and D.J. Spray scored on runs of 8 and 56 yards to complete the barrage. Collins (7-3) will now compete in the Public League playoffs.