Dundee-Crown comeback falls short

The Chargers’ comeback came up 5 yards short.

With Dundee-Crown driving and a chance to tie, the Chargers were stopped at the Woodstock North 5-yard line on third down. They settled for RJ Schmidt’s 22-yard field goal.

D-C got the ball back with a chance to go ahead, but a holding penalty killed the momentum and quarterback Garrett Ryan was sacked on fourth down. The Thunder took over and ran out the clock, holding on for a 25-20 Fox Valley Conference crossover victory in Woodstock Friday night.

For the second straight week, the Chargers dug a big hole and couldn’t quite climb out. Adam Haimbaugh scored 3 first-half touchdowns as the Thunder built a 25-10 lead.

“Two weeks in a row, the first half-horrible,” said Chargers coach Vito Andriola. “We didn’t play good defense in the first half.”

Dundee-Crown rolled up 276 yards on the ground, led by Cody Lane, with 126 yards on 24 carries, and JT Beasley, who had 91 yards on 18 tries. They outgained the Thunder 294 to 252 and had an 18-13 first-down edge. But the Chargers did themselves in with mistakes, including 3 turnovers, some key penalties, and a critical missed tackle on Haimbaugh’s 74-yard touchdown catch.

The Chargers (3-3) took their only lead at 7-6 on Lane’s 1-yard run and Schmidt’s extra point. The Thunder (4-2) had gone ahead after D-C lost a fumble on the first play from scrimmage. Haimbaugh’s 9-yard run made it 6-0, but the Thunder missed the extra point.

Haimbaugh later scored on a 10-yard run and on the long pass play, where he broke a tackle at midfield and rumbled up the middle the rest of the way.

The first of Schmidt’s 2 field goals, on the last play of the first half, kept the Chargers close, setting the stage for their comeback attempt. The defense kept the Thunder off the board in the third quarter, but the Chargers’ offense couldn’t score either. An interception by Latrell Crenshaw gave the Chargers possession, but Ryan returned the favor 2 plays later.

D-C finally got back on the scoreboard on T.J. Moss’s 3-yard run early in the fourth quarter. Ryan’s 16-yard completion to Lane set up the score. The Chargers forced a 3-and-out and, after a 15-yard punt, got the ball in excellent field position at the Thunder 26. They picked up 1 first down to the 10-yard line, but couldn’t get another and had to settle for the field goal.

Another 3-and-out gave the Chargers the ball back quickly. But a penalty wiped out a long gain, making it first-and-18, and the Chargers could never recover.