An 8-yard touchdown catch by Thomas Boyd was one of three TDs Rich Central scored in the final 2 minutes 44 seconds of the first quarter of its first-round Class 5A playoff game against Bremen on Friday.
Boyd helped host Rich Central build a 21-0 lead, but his most spectacular play came in the fourth quarter.
He intercepted a Bremen pass at the Rich Central 25-yard line with 1:06 left, and Rich Central held off a furious second-half rally by Bremen for a 35-28 victory.
“We got too full of ourselves,” Boyd said. “We got complacent.”
Rich Central (7-3) led 27-7 midway through the third quarter before Bremen’s offense began clicking. A 24-yard touchdown pass from Terry Hartwig to Lawrence Williams cut the lead to 27-14 with 1:12 left in the third quarter, and Bremen then recovered an onside kick.
A 4-yard TD run by Derrick McGhee (20 carries, 109 yards) brought Bremen (6-4) within one score, but Rich Central came right back when quarterback Richard Page connected with Nathan David on a 49-yard scoring play. The two-point conversion made the score 35-21.
Bremen answered as McGhee scored his third touchdown of the night with 6:12 to play. The Braves later forced a Rich Central punt and drove into RC territory, but Boyd’s interception on a second-down play helped Rich Central avenge a 28-21 regular-season loss to Bremen.
— Jeff Ponczak
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Morris 40, Bishop-McNamara 0: Orlando Lemus rushed for three TDs, Benjy Kennedy had 162 yards rushing and Eric Edwards had two interceptions for No. 10 Morris (10-0).
Joliet Catholic 56, Ridgewood 0: No. 12 Joliet Catholic (8-2) scored on seven of its first eight drives and rolled behind Ross Crampton, who rushed 14 times for 127 yards and two touchdowns. Crampton also caught a 31-yard pass from Ryan Quigley. Ridgewood finished 5-5.
Riverside-Brookfield 38, Robeson 12: Britt Davis went 13-of-28 for 234 yards and five touchdowns to ignite R-B (7-3). Davis, who threw two interceptions, connected with Joe Coia for two touchdowns. Coia had four catches for 145 yards. Preston Goban led Robeson (6-4) with 129 rushing yards and a touchdown.
Class 6A
Thornton Fractional South 39, Hillcrest 14: Pierre Thomas finished with a school-record 303 rushing yards on 29 carries and scored four touchdowns for T.F. South (9-1). He scored on runs of 16, 1, 67 and 52 yards to rout Hillcrest (5-5).
Mt. Carmel 49, Julian 6: Frank Lenti Jr. had two receiving touchdowns as the No. 8 Caravan (9-1) romped. With the pair of scores, Lenti set a school record with 15 receiving touchdowns in a single season. Julius Strong had 29 carries for 118 yards and a touchdown to lead Julian (7-3).
North Chicago 44, Glenbard South 14: Karlos Wittaker had nine carries for 238 yards and two TDs and Torris Childs and Joshua Allen also added two scores apiece for North Chicago (8-2). Glenbard South finished 7-3.
Carmel 49, Prosser 8: Dexter Reid’s two first-quarter interceptions led to touchdowns for No. 6 Carmel in its first-round win. John Popovitch scored two TDs rushing and caught a TD pass for the Corsairs (10-0). Prosser finished 6-4.
T.F. North 34, Oak Forest 31: Facing a 4th-and-10 with 2:23 to play and trailing Oak Forest 31-27, T.F. North quarterback Chris Anderson’s pass was tipped by the defense into the hands of receiver Damonte Jenkins for a 32-yard TD pass to give the Meteors the lead for good and their first playoff win since 1984.
“I saw the defender bat the ball in the air and I thought it was over,” Jenkins said. “The next thing I knew, I was in the end zone.”
Oak Forest (6-4) had taken its first lead of the game at 31-27 on a 1-yard TD run by Troy Stuewe. Quarterback Don Larkin rushed for two TDs and passed for another for the Bengals. Chris Smith rushed for 182 yards and two scores and Anderson and Jenkins combined for three TDs to lead T.F. North (7-3).
Class 4A
Lisle 28, Chicago Christian 17: Eighth-seeded Lisle (7-3) recovered from some miscues and knocked off top-seeded Chicago Christian (9-1). Lisle, which had been intercepted twice at Chicago Christian’s 10-yard line, trailed 17-14 heading into the fourth quarter. Kevin Crouch scored from the 1-yard line and later threw a 41-yard touchdown pass to Matt Logeman to give Lisle the upset. Crouch rushed 16 times for 91 yards for Lisle, and Tee Crowder ran for 136 yards and two touchdowns to lead Chicago Christian.