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Amoni runs wild in ACC’s win

Aurora Central Catholic used the running game to move the chains on Friday, but they made three big plays for their points to outlast Pontiac 25-15 in what started out as a defensive battle.

Chargers running back Steven Amoni rushed for 149 yards on 23 carries and scored two touchdowns of 29 and 53 yards.

“At halftime, my line just kept giving me encouragement, but I knew I needed to step it up,” Amoni said. “The line just opened some holes and made it very easy for me. It was a fantastic game with a lot of ups and downs, but it feels great to get the win.”

Neither team was able to gain much yardage on their first three possessions, and it was the Chargers who struck first when Michael O’Donnell connected on a 31-yard field goal late in the second quarter.

The score remained 3-0 when the host Chargers took over at their own 36 with just 29.5 seconds remaining in the half. Sophomore Matt Rahn replaced starting quarterback Drake Riedy and connected on the third play from scrimmage with running back Brian Bohr for a 34-yard gain to the Indian 17-yard line. With five seconds remaining, Rahn found junior Sean Anger in the left corner of the endzone to give the Chargers a 10-0 halftime lead.

After a failed fake punt by the Indians gave the Chargers the ball on the Indian 44-yard line, Amoni found daylight off the right tackle on third and eight for a 29-yard touchdown run. Rahn, apparently the Chargers new secret weapon, then ran the ball in on a fake extra point attempt for the 2-point conversion and an 18-0 Charger lead.

With 2:50 remaining in the third quarter, the Indians found themselves on their own 15-yard line. Up to this point, the Chargers had contained Pontiac’s running attack and hadn’t allowed any passing yards, but on the first play of the drive, Indians running back Adam Green caught a screen pass from Alex Friedman with blockers to spare and took it 70 yards down to the Charger 15-yard line.

Two plays later, Friedman scored on a 1-yard keeper and Eric DeMattia darted in for the 2-point conversion.

On the Chargers’ next series, they drove to the Indian 11-yard line, but the drive stalled when they turned the ball over on downs. Pontiac took over and moved the ball out to the 50, but their drive stalled as well.

Green used the field position to his advantage with a 47-yard punt that was downed on the Charger 3-yard line.

The Chargers were unable to move the ball and punted from their own endzone, leaving the ball for the Indians on the Charger 31-yard line. Five plays later, Friedman scored on a keeper from 5-yards out to close the score to 18-15 with 1:07 left to play.

The ensuing onside kick was recovered by the Chargers to squelch the Indians comeback bid, and Amoni took the next handoff 53 yards for the final score.

Chargers head coach Brian Casey credited the physical play of the defense as a key to the win.

“Physicality and speed is the name of the game,” Casey said. “We probably don’t have as much speed as we had last year, but we have some boys who like popping, and tonight it worked in our favor.”

“That’s (Pontiac) a good football program. I told the kids, ‘We have a chance for a signature win tonight.’ That’s a program that’s been to the playoffs 19 times, they have a state championship in their trophy case, and a runner up. This is a big win for us.”

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