Hoffman Estates hangs on at Hersey
Hoffman Estates needed a near miss to become 2-0 for the second year in a row.
The Hawks had taken a 10-9 lead with just over three minutes to play on a 23-yard field goal by Connor McCreary.
They then had to hold their collective breaths as Hersey lined up for a game-winning field goal try from 28 yards out with 4.9 seconds left. But the kicked just sailed left of the goal post as the Hoffman bench erupted in joyous celebration as the Hawks claimed a 10-9 victory Friday in Arlington Heights.
"This is the biggest win by our program in a long time," Hoffman Estates coach Mike Donatucci said. "Hersey is a good team. We told our kids at halftime we just had to execute. And we did that late in the game."
Trailing 9-0 heading into the fourth quarter, the Hawks finally began to find success offensively. With the move of H-back Dante Cleveland into the backfield, both McCreary (20 caries, 79 yards) and quarterback Jeff Mayes (9 carries, 60 yards) were able to benefit from Cleveland's 6-foot-3, 235 pound frame.
"He gave us some extra room to run," said Mayes, whose 23-yard run and McCreary's extra point kick with 11:43 left to play cut the lead to 9-7. "We had some issues with our offense up to that point."
Hersey was then able to shave five minutes off the clock, attempting a punt from the Hoffman 39. But Michael Baureis busted through the line, blocking the kick, and the Hawks took over at the Hersey 34.
Using that same formula that they employed on the previous series, Hoffman drove to Hersey 5. With the ball on the far right hash, McCreary, who missed an earlier field goal, blasted it through the goal posts from 23 yards out to give Hawks their first lead with 3:09 to play.
"There was a lot of pressure out there,"McCreary said. "My coach talked to me and I got my mind in the right spot, especially after how badly I missed that first kick. I just followed through and kept my head down."
Hersey, which had struggled offensively in the second half, took over at its own 34 with just under three minutes to play.
The Huskies, led by quarterback Eric Portenlanger, then put together their best drive of the half. Portenlanger completed 5 of 6 passes, bringing the ball down to the Hoffman 12. He then gave way at quarterback to starter Joe Caputo, who had great success running the ball all night, finishing with 19 carries for 110 yards.
After running the ball to the 7, Caputo appeared to have scored a touchdown with less than a minute to play. But the score was negated by a holding call, pushing the ball back to the 19. Caputo was able to get the Huskies down to the 10, but he and the rest of the Huskies could only watch in dismay as the final kick just missed.
"I told our kids that this one would hurt," Hersey coach Joe Pardun said. "But we are going to have to learn from that hurt. It's not even about the kick. We put ourselves in that situation.
"I want to see how we respond. That will be the test for us now."
Hersey (1-1) took a 3-0 lead in the first quarter thanks to a ball-controlling offensive effort.
With the line of Austin Kane, Dan Somary, Clayton Smith, Stephen Psaradellis and Spencer Krueger controlling the line of scrimmage, the Huskies drove 56 yards on 14 plays. When the drive stalled at the 9, Will Trossen kicked a 26-yard field goal.
Hoffman came up with a scoring opportunity midway through the second quarter, but was not able to capitalize on it.
The Hawks got great field position when Baureis intercepted a pass and returned it 43 yards to the Hersey 33. But the drive stalled at the 8 and McCreary missed badly on his 25-yard field goal attempt.
Trossen was a key to the Huskies' touchdown late in the first half.
The senior took the ball away from a Hoffman receiver for the first of his two interceptions, this one at the Hawk 35. Four plays later, Trossen threw a key block downfield to help spring Caputo for a 17-yard touchdown run to make it 9-0 with 1:42 left in the first half. But the extra point kick was wide.
Donatucci was pleased at how his kids handled the pressure.
"To be in the game and then able to finish it off was impressive," Donatucci said. "It is the character thing that most impressed me."