For years to come Morgan Park’s football team may be referring to Saturday afternoon’s 13-10 victory over Marian Catholic in the opening round of the Class 7A playoffs as the Miracle of Morgan Park.
But for Mustangs coach Lexie Spurlock, it was just another afternoon of football.
Morgan Park’s Cinque Chapman (19 carries, 54 yards) scored on a fourth-and-inches play with 1 minute 55 seconds left to cap a wild game-winning drive as the Mustangs (7-3) stunned Marian at Gately Stadium after trailing 10-0 at the half.
After a miserable first half in which Morgan Park accumulated only 49 yards on offense, the Mustangs dramatically turned things around. Quarterback Andre Downing (8-for-22 passing, 142 yards) led his team on a 65-yard drive by hitting on 3-of-4 passes for 46 yards, including a 10-yard strike to Brandon Bradbury with 7:06 left in the third to cut the Spartans’ lead to 10-6.
Though the Mustangs’ defense was dominant, their offense sputtered, moving to Marian’s 24- and 8-yard lines on the next two drives but failing to score. With 3:49 left, Morgan Park had one last chance from its 49.
That’s when Downing connected on a 42-yard lob to Jordan Eversley that actually fell through the cupped hands of Marian defensive back Collin McKillip. Four plays later, Chapman bowled over on an end-around.
“That’s actually happened a couple of times this year for us,” said Spurlock of Eversley’s heads-up reception. “Jordan has very good focus and that’s something we drill on all the time. If you call that a miracle, we hope they keep coming.”
Said Eversley: “I knew I had to keep my eyes on the ball. It was a short ball, so I knew that was the only chance I had.”
Marian built its first-half lead on Tim Rhodes’ 26-yard field goal in the first and a 7-yard TD pass from Mike Jedlicka (9-for-19, 132 yards) to Chris Rodriguez in the second. The Spartans’ offense tapered off in the second half, totaling 66 yards.
Marian had one last shot at a comeback, but Jedlicka was sacked twice and had his final desperation pass broken up by Morgan Park’s Beau Gaitors.
Phil English.
Buffalo Grove 35, Maine West 12: Tommy Zbikowski rushed for two touchdowns as the No. 5 Bison (10-0) won easily. Mark Woodsum, Jeff Moore and Dan Bolger also scored rushing touchdowns for Buffalo Grove, which rushed for 302 yards.
Mike Stankiewicz passed for two scores for Maine West (5-5).
Zion-Benton 35, Rockton Hononegah 28: Marcus Denham’s 85-yard touchdown run with 8:28 left in the game lifted the Zee-Bees (9-1). Denham had 154 yards on 18 carries and also scored on a 7-yard reception. Kyle Grimes had three TD passes for Zion-Benton. Justin Headt passed for 274 yards and two scores for Hononegah (7-3), but also threw two interceptions.
Class 8A
Downers North 36, Plainfield 0
Downers Grove North’s offense moved with consistency and authority and the Trojans’ defense even got into the scoring act in a surprisingly easy victory at Plainfield.
“They came out ready and hungry,” Trojans coach John Wander said. “We came off the ball offensively, and I give our offensive line great credit.”
The victory sets up a rematch next weekend with top-ranked Downers Grove South.
Downers Grove North’s offense scored three times in the game’s first 26 minutes, and could have had more. Quarterback Tom Edwards, who rushed for 109 yards on 22 carries, scoring on runs of 20 and 24 yards. Running back Craig Lewis added a 4-yard touchdown.
The Trojans (7-3) later scored two touchdowns on turnovers by Plainfield (7-3).
With 2:12 left in the third quarter, sophomore lineman Richard O’Rourke scooped up a botched pitch from Wildcats quarterback Jameson Jordan and rambled 33 yards for a score.
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Jack McCarthy.
Downers Grove South 23, Moline 6: Erick Newman rushed for 140 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries and Mike Sharp was 8-of-12 for 141 yards and a TD to lead the top-ranked Mustangs (10-0). Christian Unciano added a 41-yard TD run for Downers South, which has won 21 straight games.
Naperville North 42, Alton 7: The No. 11 Huskies (9-1) grabbed a 28-0 halftime lead to romp past Alton (6-4). Greg Wunderlich threw for three TDs, while Corey McKeon ran for two scores and caught another.
Class 6A
Richards 44, Galesburg 0: Dion Foster rushed for 236 yards and four touchdowns on 12 carries–all in the first half–as the No. 9 Bulldogs (10-0) rolled. Mike Dragosavich added two TD receptions for the winners.
Rock Island 13, Woodstock 12: Dillon Smith rushed for 80 yards to lead Rock Island (9-1). Brandon Benda led Woodstock (6-4) with 139 yards passing.
Rockford Boylan 26, Prairie Ridge 19: Prairie Ridge (6-4) tied the game 13-13 with 8:54 left in the third on Rick Goffron’s 2-yard plunge, but Boylan regained the lead for good when Quinten Ponius returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a touchdown. Matt Weber, who opened the scoring with an 8-yard run in the second quarter, led Boylan (8-2) with TD tosses of 21 and 25 yards to Eric Bryant.
Vernon Hills 43, Harper 16: Ryan Borden rushed for 101 yards and a touchdown and also passed for two TDs to lead the Cougars (7-3). Vercell Mitchell was 6-of-11 passing for 160 yards and a TD for Harper (8-2).
Class 5A
Geneseo Darnall 41, Yorkville 32: Andre Jackson rushed for 132 yards and four touchdowns for Darnall (7-3). Yorkville dropped to 6-4.
Class 4A
Driscoll 17, Burlington Central 13: The defending Class 4A champion Highlanders (9-1) survived a major scare when Anthony Gebhart scored on a 5-yard run with 6:13 left in the game. Gebhart finished with 133 yards on 18 attempts. Brett Porto’s 28-yard touchdown pass to Jack Sheldon early in the fourth quarter gave the Rockets (6-4) a 13-10 lead. Jason Schultz had a 1-yard TD run in the second quarter to put Driscoll on the board.
Montini 16, Oregon 12: Christian Pfluger tossed two touchdown passes to Pete Liberti, including a 6-yarder with 22 seconds left in the game, as the Broncos (7-3) rallied for the victory.
Rochester 36, Sandwich 25: Kurt Long ran for a touchdown and passed for another to lead Rochester (8-2). Chad Anderson ran for 173 yards and three TDs on 15 attempts, while Adam Pennington returned a kickoff 85 yards for a score for Sandwich (5-5).
Class 3A
Immaculate Conception 42, Walther Lutheran 14: Joe Mastrino rushed for two touchdowns and caught another as the Knights (9-1), who led only 7-0 at the half, exploded in the final two quarters. Marvin Atkins had 18 carries for 117 yards and a TD for Walther Lutheran (5-5).
Wilmington 29, Sherrard 7: Jason Banning rushed for 143 yards and three scores on 11 carries to lead the top-seeded Wildcats (10-0).
Public League playoff
Steinmetz 26, Hyde Park 20: The Silver Streaks (11-0) rallied from a 20-0 second-quarter deficit to take the Public Chicago Playoff championship. Namon Johnson scored on a 3-yard run with 9:03 left to break a 20-20 tie. Johnson finished with two tocuhdowns, while Amir Haywood ran for 189 yards and a touchdown on 12 carries.
Steinmetz, which blew a 20-0 lead two weeks ago in a 28-26 overtime victory over Hyde Park, now advances in the Public playoffs with the rest of the surviving Illini Division teams.
Jermel Ollie scored two rushing TDs for Hyde Park (7-4).