Maine South came up with the miracle plays when needed, rallying to upend Hubbard 27-26 in a double-overtime thriller of a season opener for both teams Saturday at Gately Stadium.
Along with the loss came more bad news for Hubbard. Star running back Kelvin Hayden injured his knee on 26-yard run in the third quarter and was taken away in an ambulance. The extent of his injury was not known.
In the first overtime, Hubbard seized a 20-12 lead when senior running back Maurice Johnson scored on a 3-yard run on fourth down and Greyhounds quarterback Nicholas Davis ran in the conversion. Back came No. 20 Maine South.
Chris Fosco scored on a 3-yard run on third down, but a delay-of-game penalty on the conversion put the Hawks in a precarious position. Then Joe Sergo caught a pass from Shawn Kain in the right corner of end zone to tie the game and force a second overtime.
Starting again on the 10-yard line (teams get four plays to score), Hubbard’s Juan Dominguez scored on a 10-yard pass from Davis on first down for a 26-20 lead. A procedure call backed the Greyhounds back to the 8-yard line on the extra point, and a halfback option was stuffed for no gain.
Back came Maine South again.
Running back Kevin Sherlock ran twice, busting in from 3 yards out on second down to tie the game. David Olsen kicked the extra point for the victory.
“This is the hardest, longest game I have ever been involved with,” said Maine South coach Phil Hopkins. “I can’t say enough about Hubbard. They had guys hurt. Obviously, Hayden wasn’t in there at the end. And that made a difference.”
Lane Tech 20, St. Patrick 15
The biggest player on the field in Lane Tech’s victory over St. Patrick was only 5 feet 7 inches tall.
Joey Vasquez’s accomplishments on the field, which included two fumble recoveries–one of which he returned for a touchdown–and an interception made him the star of Lane Tech’s defense.
After Gideon Akande scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter to put Lane up 6-0, Vasquez scooped up a fumble and returned it 32 yards for a third-quarter touchdown.
“I always worry about getting hurt out there,” Vasquez said. “There are some big guys on defense that I play with. Our defense is great. I’m lucky to be on defense, with the great team that we have.”
Ross McLane extended the lead to 20-0 on a 40-yard TD pass to Ed Porrata and a two-point conversion pass to Tim Nierman.
Mt. Carmel 53, St. Joseph 8
Mt. Carmel had little trouble in Saturday’s season opener against St. Joseph, but the road quickly gets tougher for the No. 3 Caravan.
Scoring on each of its first seven possessions, Mt. Carmel blasted the Chargers in a non-conference match at Eckersall Stadium.
The Caravan travels to No. 5 Joliet Catholic on Friday.
In Saturday’s game, Mt. Carmel quarterback John Mulchorne threw three touchdown passes, including two to wide receiver Shannon Lightfoot. Senior running back Marty Quinn had a pair of second-half touchdown runs.
The Caravan led 12-0 after one quarter and 39-0 at halftime.
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On defense, Mt. Carmel held the Chargers to minus-7 yards total offense in the first half and 74 yards for the game. St. Joseph didn’t get a first down until well in the second half and its best drive came late when it finally got on the scoreboard on a 6-yard Charles Hayden touchdown run.
By contrast, the Caravan piled up nearly 350 yards total offense for the game, led by Mulchrone’s 8-for-11 performance for 119 yards. Running back Don Dorham had 68 yards in seven carries..
— Jack McCarthy
Bolingbrook 42, Minooka 23
Sophomore A.J. Johnson rushed for two touchdowns and returned an interception for another score as No. 8 Bolingbrook scored 28 fourth-quarter points to down Minooka.
Minooka led 23-14 after Matt Wehrle scored on a quarterback keeper late in the third. In the fourth quarter, Johnson scored on a 7-yard run to pull the Raiders within 23-21. John Nicholson gave Bolingbrook a 28-23 lead when he stripped a Minooka ball carrier and ran 40 yards for a score. After Derell Jenkins scored on a quarterback sneak for Bolingbrook, Johnson ran back an interception 45 yards to seal the victory.
Scott Moss ran for a 20-yard score and caught a 61-yard touchdown for Minooka.
Wheaton Warrenville South 24, Glenbard West 21
Luka Ulicevic kicked a 33-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter to snap a tie as No. 15 Wheaton South nipped Glenbard West. Glenbard’s Mike Guimon missed a 33-yard field goal with 1:09 left that would have tied the game.
Dan Brauer tossed three touchdown passes for the Tigers, including strikes of 13 yards to Joe O’Brien, 51 yards to Brett Adamson and 83 yards to Brett Bell.
After Brauer’s TD connection with Bell put Wheaton South up 21-14, Mark Hamilton scored from 10 yards out to tie the game late in the third quarter. Guimon was 17 for 21 for 230 yards and passed for two touchdowns to lead Glenbard.
Brauer finished the game 5 for 12 for 172 yards, three touchdowns and one interception.
“Our quarterback is one of the best in the state,” Bell said. “He’s got a lot to learn, but he throws the ball well. He made tiny little mistakes, but our receivers did really well. We didn’t show a lot of our offense at all.”
In other games:
Schaumburg 36, Leyden 7: Tom Bart scored three touchdowns–including a 95-yard return of the opening kickoff–as the No. 7 Saxons rolled. Bart added TD runs of 14 and 33 yards. Bart had 54 yards rushing and an interception on defense. Ryan Maher led Schaumburg with 107 yards rushing in 17 attempts and a touchdown.
Thornton 51, Gary (Ind.) Wallace 0: DeSean Davidson rushed for 98 yards in nine carries and scored on runs of 11, 20 and 25 as the No. 16 Wildcats rolled in their opener. Antonio Tribble added 108 passing yards and a TD for Thornton.
Carmel 21, Lake Forest 6: Ben Lawrence ran for 85 yards in 11 carries and scored two touchdowns for the Corsairs.
De La Salle 48, St. Francis de Sales 0: The Meteors jumped to a 28-0 first-quarter lead and never looked back. Safety Marcus Reynolds tallied three defensive touchdowns in the first half, including a 60-yard interception return in the second quarter. Louis Alcala also pitched in with three scores on runs of 10, 5 and 7 yards.
Downers Grove North 41, Zion-Benton 7: Kyle Kleckner caught two touchdown passes and ran for another as the Trojans rolled. Brian Konoff led Downers with 84 yards rushing and scored on a 41-yard run.
Driscoll 28, Nazareth 19: Matt Butler fired two touchdown passes and Jeremy Netzer returned an interception 32 yards for a score for the Highlanders. Dan Paplaczyk had four receptions for 74 yards and caught one of Butler’s TD throws. Osborn Curtis scored on a 82-yard kickoff return and a 7-yard reception for Nazareth.
East St. Louis 18, Simeon 8: Jamar Thomas had 65 yards in 15 attempts and scored on a 9-yard run to lift the Flyers. Kurdis Ellison was 14-for-22 passing for 140 yards and scored on a 1-yard run for Simeon.
Evergreen Park 14, Marmion 6: Mark Sizemore rushed for 100 yards in 25 carries and scored the game-clinching touchdown with 1:09 left for the Mustangs.
Fenwick 42, Hales Franciscan 21: Kevin Quinn and Robert Tamillow each recorded two rushing touchdowns in the first half to spark Fenwick..
Fremd 9, Benet 7: Steven LaFalce threw a 33-yard touchdown pass to Eric Billimoria with just over three minutes left as the Vikings rallied for the victory. LaFalce threw for 169 yards to lead Fremd.
Geneva 41, Vernon Hills 18: Kevin Grimoldby rushed for 176 yards in 30 attempts and scored twice as Geneva rolled over Vernon Hills, which played its first varsity game in school history.
Hinsdale South 34, Deerfield 6: Nick Belelio caught two touchdown passes and Zach Luetkemeyer scored on a 41-yard run and a 53-yard reception for the Hornets.
Holy Cross 37, St. Laurence 24: Garrett Wolfe rushed for 247 yards in 35 carries and four touchdowns as the Crusaders outgunned St. Laurence. Quarterback Michael Bleke also rushed for 108 yards in 15 attempts for Holy Cross, which totaled 401 rushing yards on the day. Chris Pazan was 24 for 53 for 279 yards to lead St. Laurence, which led 16-11 at half.
Immaculate Conception 30, Elmwood Park 22: Joe Mastrino had 200 all-purpose yards and scored on a 96-yard reception for the Knights..
Lindblom 48, Farragut 22: Orlando Hughes accounted for 191 yards of total offense and three touchdowns, including an 80-yard kick return in the first quarter. Lindblom scored four times in the fourth quarter to break a 22-22 tie. In that quarter, defensive end Arnold Heard picked off a Farragut screen pass for a 77-yard touchdown.
Manley 42, Bowen 0: Manley’s Michael Starks completed 12 of 21 passes for 406 yards and five touchdowns. Starks connected with Edward Charse three times for touchdowns of 81, 61, and 29 yards.
Niles North 13, Schurz 6: Justin Lopatin rushed in from 9 yards in the second quarter and Joe Negussie connected with Jeff Rosset for a 33-yard touchdown pass in the third to lead Niles North.
Prairie Ridge 32, Jacobs 12: Judd Thompson ran for a touchdown and passed for another as the Wolves rolled in the Fox Valley.
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Mike Greener had 16 carries for 177 yards and a touchdown to lead Prairie Ridge. Josh Roberts added two field goals and two extra points for Prairie Ridge, which jumped to a 32-0 lead.
Jacobs, which advanced to the second round of the Class 6A playoffs last year, didn’t score until Brent Hanson fired a 13-yard TD pass to Andy Morgenroth with 8:07 left.
Rich East 52, Gary (Ind.) Horace Mann 6: Jeremy Lee rushed for 148 yards and scored three times on a 25-yard run, a 45-yard reception, and a 71-yard kick return. Garmar Diamond chipped in with 156 yards rushing and scored twice from 29 and 15 yards out.
Thornwood 33, Thornridge 6: Lenell Turner ran for two scores and caught a touchdown pass for the Thunderbirds. Deon Willis put Thornwood on the board with a 21-yard touchdown on a fumble return.