Crystal Lake Central upends Crystal Lake South

You can call them party crashers all you want, but milestone wins are hard to come by for football teams and when you're Crystal Lake Central repeatedly getting beat by your crosstown rival for the last 15 years, it was more than just OK if the Tigers wanted to party like it was 1999 after their 7-3 win over Crystal Lake South at Ken Bruhn Field Friday night in Crystal Lake.

Literally, that is, because the last time Central won the Battle of CL was 1999 - a 21-17 win - and not only did this year's installment cost South bragging rights, it was South's homecoming on top of matters.

"It's the greatest thing of all-time," Central running back Ryan Williams said. "I haven't beaten, nobody's beaten them, making it to our senior year and finally beating them is the greatest thing in the world."

"It's huge; it's one of those milestones in our program when you lose to a team (15-straight years), it's a big win for us, it really is," Tigers coach Matt Fralick said. "For the kids, for the coaches, even for the school, it's been so long and to do it on the road at their homecoming, it doesn't get any better than this."

And CL Central (3-1) did so in a fashion that's been South's hallmark for years: defense. Only twice did CL South (1-3) cross midfield on 11 drives, and the furthest the Gators reached was the Tiger 20 when Tyler Baker booted a 37-yard field goal in the second quarter for 3-0 advantage.

The Gators' last drive, which ended on an incomplete pass intended for Baker over the middle that was too high for him to haul in with 1:25 left, was the only other drive to reach Tiger territory thanks to a Steven Anchor blocked punt. But it capped an impressive outing by the Central defense, which helped lead an offense that outgained the Gators 280-39 and allowed just 2 first downs. Baker was also forced to punt 8 times South for 332 yards and a 41.5 average, which appeared to be the Gators' best weapon at times.

"Central did a great job on defense against us and we cost ourselves again so many times," said Gators coach Chuck Ahsmann, who pointed to the same mishaps in last week's loss to Bloom Township. "We can't jump offsides. We can't block downfield we can't clip on a big pass play. It's a lot of different things."

South walked into halftime up 3-0 but edged in total yards 109-10 with only 1 first down. Ryan Williams, who led Central in rushing last week with 320 yards, finished with 140 on 32 attempts. At the half he had just 11 carries for 42 yards, but on Central's second drive of the second half that bridged the third and fourth quarters, Williams busted out a 24-yard touchdown run down the middle of the field with 11:52 left in the game for the decisive score. His number was called 8 times on that 13-play, 96-yard winning drive and Fralick owed that to a mental adjustment South couldn't stop.

"They just ran it down our throats," Baker said. "We couldn't get the ball moving after that. They got that one touchdown and that was it. It was definitely (a) must-win for us."

The Gators' defense performed well but didn't benefit from an interception at the end of the first half, Anchor's blocked punt or a fumble recovery by defensive back Cameron Pennino with 8:48 left in the fourth quarter. Quarterback Payton Minogue finished 6 for 19 for 25 yards passing and Corey Sheehan had 19 carries for 14 yards. South had some magic at the end on its final drive as Minogue scrambled for 19 yards from the South 47 across midfield to the Central 34 with 1:40 on the clock but 3-straight incomplete passes ended a nerve-racking last 2 minutes for Central.

"It was tough, we just worked through it we just pushed everyone to the limit, played every down like it was our last and overplayed them," said CL Central defensive end Alec Baron, who recorded a sack as well. "(The win) means everything. It's like the first time in (15) years we done it, I don't have much words. "