Buffalo Grove wins this battle
Buffalo Grove may have had its backs to the wall all night against Prospect, but the Bison didn’t back down.
Prospect drove inside the BG 10-yard line five times, but thanks to a Bison defense that rose to the challenge, the Knights could only muster 3 points.
The stingy defense allowed Buffalo Grove to secure a 7-5 Mid-Suburban League East victory at Grant Blaney Field on senior night.
Buffalo Grove (2-6, 1-3) won its first game since an opening-night victory over Leyden, snapping a six game losing streak.
“We’ve been in just about every one of our games,” said BG coach Mike DiMatteo, “but in the end they seem like they faded away. Tonight we played for four quarters and finished it.”
But it wasn’t easy. Prospect (1-6, 1-3), playing its first game without sophomore starting quarterback Matt Drew, drove to Bison 2 on its opening drive but Mitchell Janca stopped Prospect’s Bobby Jarosz for a 3-yard loss on fourth down.
Two possessions later, Jarosz busted free for a 65-yard gain, giving the Knights possession at the Bison 5, but a BG defense led by senior linemen Adam Goyke, Corey Gill, and Christian Durant limited Prospect to a 19-yard field goal by Luis Leguer.
“Everyone was working hard,” said Goyke. “Just stepping up doing our jobs, and not letting anything get by us.”
Buffalo Grove was able to cash in for its lone score one play after Dan Levato recovered a Prospect fumble, as senior Scott Smithern gave the Bison a 7-3 advantage with a 5-yard score with 6:29 remaining in the second quarter.
Buffalo Grove sophomore Trey Cervantes completed 9 of 21 passes for 147 yards.
But Prospect’s defense was just as sticky as Buffalo Grove’s. The Knights were led by junior linebacker Brady Eckert, who had a big third-down stop and followed it up with a fourth-down interception to stop a BG drive late in the first half.
Prospect recovered a fumble and made it to Buffalo Grove’s 1 on its opening drive of the second half, but whiffed on two attempts as John Maddox stopped Leguer on fourth down.
“When we get inside the 10-yard line, we have to score,” said Prospect coach Mike Sebestyen. “We didn’t. Give Buffalo Grove credit.”
Leguer, who was filling in for Drew, rushed for 149 yards on 30 carries, including a 59-yard burst midway through the final quarter that gave the Knights the ball on the 16-yard line.
Prospect moved the ball to the 9-yard line, but once again the Bison defense closed the door.
“We all put our heads together, and we did it,” Gill of the bend-without-breaking Bison defense. “It’s just so special — I just want to sleep on the field tonight.”