Addison Trail takes control of Gold
Addison Trail's football team came too far to lose this game.
The Blazers certainly could handle another 4 yards.
Mike Rybarczyk's 4-yard touchdown pass to Jake Atiyeh midway through the fourth quarter proved to be the winning score as Addison Trail pulled out Friday's 20-16 victory over visiting Hinsdale South in a showdown between unbeaten West Suburban Gold teams.
Not only did the Blazers (5-0, 3-0) take a crucial step closer to their first conference title since 2011, they also can clinch a playoff berth with another victory.
“Our athletes made plays and we just ran the ball down the field and we got a big score,” Atiyeh said. “This feeling is great. We're not taking anyone lightly. We're working as hard as we can every day.”
Back-to-back touchdown runs from Rybarczyk, a 66-yard keeper, and Malik Pierre-Louis, a 1-yard dive, pushed Addison Trail to a 13-7 lead late in the second quarter. Hinsdale South (4-1, 2-1), however, stunned the homecoming crowd when quarterback Rob Regan found Ravon Johnson for a 35-yard touchdown pass, a marvelous catch by Johnson that gave the Hornets a 14-13 halftime lead.
Hinsdale South punted coming out of the half, pinning the Blazers at their 1-yard line. On the Blazers' first play from scrimmage, Hornets defensive lineman Josh King took down Pierre-Louis, who finished with 62 rushing yards, in the end zone for a safety and a 16-13 Hinsdale South lead.
“I was real proud of our guys, their efforts all the way down to the end,” said Hinsdale South coach Mike Barry. “It was a great game.”
That was the lone play run by the Blazers for the first nine-plus minutes of the second half but, boy, did the defense come up big after spending nearly the entire third quarter on the field. On fourth-and-2 at the Blazers' 4-yard line, the unit stopped Regan a yard short of a first down to prevent the margin from growing on the scoreboard.
The Hornets' 16-play drive featured three fourth-down conversions, but the Blazers came through when it counted most.
The teams traded punts until Addison Trail's 8-play, 55-yard drive resulted in Rybarczyk's 4-yard touchdown pass to Atiyeh. Rybarczyk finished 12 of 17 for 86 yards, including 9 catches for 58 yards by Atiyeh.
“This is the first time all year we've been down at halftime, and we faced some adversity there at half,” Rybarczyk said.
After Addison Trail's go-ahead score the Hornets started at their own 36, but Regan — who opened the game's scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run set up by his 55-yard scamper — was on the sideline nursing a thigh injury. Three plays and 1 yard later, the Blazers' Anthony Metallo blocked a punt to set up his team at Hinsdale South's 29 with 4:51 left.
Two first downs, the second on fourth-and-1 at the 5, sealed the victory for Addison Trail.
“Our kids play with a lot of heart,” said Blazers coach Paul Parpet. “We had a couple fourth downs there that they converted and we still didn't give in. That's a compliment to our defense and that's just a compliment to our kids.”
Follow Kevin on Twitter @kevin_schmit