Crystal Lake South nips South Elgin

A broken play helped the Crystal Lake South football team break South Elgin hearts in a 32-29 victory at Ken Bruhn Field in Crystal Lake on Friday.

After CL South defensive lineman Josh Andrae stuffed South Elgin running back Shawn Griffin for a 4-yard loss on fourth-and-1 to give his team the ball back at the South Elgin 41-yard line with 43 seconds left in a 29-29 game, the Gators used 3 plays to move to the 33.

With 13.7 seconds left, CL South quarterback Payton Minogue was pressured, rolled to his left and threw to fullback Kyle Bartusch inside the 5-yard line with 5.1 seconds to play.

After a timeout, senior Tyler Baker split the uprights as time expired to give the Gators the nonconference win.

“I just wanted to make it,” Baker said. “I wanted to do something to help my team win.”

Coach Chuck Ahsmann earlier asked Baker to be ready to kick the game winner.

“We talked about it halftime,” Ahsmann said. “I said be ready to make a big kick to win the game. He said 'absolutely.'”

Ahsmann praised Minogue for his athleticism on the key pass that set up the winning field goal. Minogue, who completed 4 of 9 attempts for 142 yards and 2 touchdowns, made the best of a bad situation.

“I was supposed to roll out to the right but I ended up getting pressured so I spun around, turned to the left and saw my teammate Kyle Bartusch in the end zone,” Minogue said. “I tried to put it in the end zone, but I was about a yard short.”

“In practice we have a scramble drill, come back to the ball,” Bartusch said. “I just came back to the ball like we practice and it worked out.”

The game was tied 15-15 at halftime. South Elgin scored on Derek Kumerow touchdown receptions of 25 and 14 yards, and CL South scored on a 45-yard touchdown pass from Minogue to Baker and a 69-yard pass from Minogue to Bartusch.

Griffin, who led South Elgin (1-1) with 98 yards on 11 carries, gave the Storm a third-quarter lead with a 53-yard gallop up the sideline, but CL South (1-1) answered. Hugh Hughes returned the ensuing kick 57 yards to the South Elgin 12, and junior workhorse Corey Sheehan (28 carries, 200 yards) scored 3 plays later. Baker's extra point tied the game 22-22.

The Gators recovered a muffed punt at the South Elgin 18-yard line. Two plays later Minogue gave his team a 29-22 lead via a 1-yard sneak with 4:38 left in the third quarter.

South Elgin responded with a massive 14-play, 97-yard drive, capped by Kyle Ware's 3-yard touchdown run, and Nick Farfan's extra point knotted the score at 29 with 3:06 left in the game. Ware finished with 87 rushing yards on 12 carries.

After a CL South punt, the Storm got the ball back with 1:55 remaining and moved 34 yards in 6 plays, but Andrae's huge tackle of Griffin for a loss on a run up the middle set up the winning drive for the Gators.

“One of the things we're trying to do is become a physical football team up front,” South Elgin coach Pat Pistorio said. “We've been running that play for awhile on fourth-and-1 and I truly believed we could get it done. There was an overhang guy that maybe if we had called it differently, we would have had a different result.

“We tried to be physical with them. I'm proud of the kids. The overall effort was great.”