Grayslake Central slips up against Danville
A broken play continued the heartbreak for the Grayslake Central football team in the cold and rain on Saturday.
The winless Rams were about to match Danville in overtime by kicking an extra point after their touchdown. It would have forced a second overtime.
Instead, a bad snap sent the ball spinning on the field and Grayslake Central kicker Kevin Dunk never even got close to attempting the extra point. Danville, which also entered the game without a win, was able to escape Grayslake with a 17-16 overtime victory.
Danville is now 1-5 overall while Grayslake Central falls to 0-6.
"This one's going to sting a little bit," Grayslake Central coach Jason Schaal said. "Obviously, at 0-6, you get frustrated. But you're going to have to deal with adversity in life, and how you react and how you handle and deal with that is a sign of character.
"We have to work to build and improve and ultimately in the long run, this is going to make us a better program. I'm really proud of how our kids didn't give up at all. They kept going."
Grayslake Central had a 10-3 lead that stood through most of the fourth quarter. But Danville quarterback Quentin Smith ran in a touchdown from 15 yards out with 3:17 left to knot the score and ultimately force the extra session.
Danville got the first possession in overtime and scored on its second play when Kaleb McLain ran in a 5-yard touchdown. Kicker Caleb Griffin knocked in the extra point to give the Vikings a 17-10 lead.
"It was huge that we came back," Danville coach B.J. Luke said. "Grayslake Central could have put the game away a few times (in regulation) but we kept them out (of the end zone) and then to get the score at the end was huge."
It didn't take Grayslake Central long to match Danville's overtime touchdown. The Rams also scored on their second play when Michael Andrews barreled his way into the end zone on a 3-yard run. He was a workhorse all afternoon, finishing with 117yards on 18 carries.
"I've been working hard all year and I just keep plowing, just keep those legs moving," said Andrews, who also scored Grayslake Central's other touchdown, a 1-yard run in the third quarter. "I just keep trying. Hopefully, we can get some wins.
"We gave it all we got today. It's a very tough loss. It was so close. We battled hard, they battled hard. They just got the best of it."
Andrews' first touchdown gave the Rams a 7-3 lead with 7:40 left in the third. Danville scored the only points of the first half on a 27-yard field goal by Griffin.
Grayslake Central also got a field goal, a 35-yarder by Dunk that gave the Rams a 10-3 lead near the end of the third quarter.
"We had a ton of energy and enthusiasm coming in," Schaal said. "Unfortunately, it just came down to some little things. I'm not even sure what happened at the end. We just lost in overtime, that's all."
Grayslake Central got a solid performance out of quarterback Anthony Fitzgerald, who completed 5-of-12 passes for 91 yards. He is filling in for injured starting quarterback Luke Shepherd. Fitzgerald connected with Fitzgerald three times for 68 yards.
Danville's big gainer was sophomore running back Justin Daubaris, who rolled up 127 yards on 28 carries. McLain added 98 yards on 13 carries.