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Big play nets big win for Lake Park

With an offense lacking the consistency to march down the field, Lake Park's football team needed a big play to beat Glenbard North.

The Lancers got it.

Jaron Fields threw a 56-yard touchdown pass to Tommie Jackson with less than two minutes to play as Lake Park rallied to edge the Panthers 20-17 in Friday's DuPage Valley Conference matchup in Carol Stream.

Glenbard North got the ball back at its own 24 with 1:27 left. Despite a pair of sacks pushing them to fourth-and-26 at the 8, the Panthers converted a first down on Shane Conway's 29-yard pass to Brett Gasiorowski.

Two plays later, however, a fumble recovery by Lancers sophomore defensive lineman Jacub Panasiuk sealed the victory for Lake Park.

Lake Park (5-2, 2-1) is now playoff eligible and gets to bring the Stratford Cup trophy home to Roselle. The Panthers (3-4, 1-2), meanwhile, need to win their final two games for a chance at their 12th straight postseason appearance.

"Our offense stepped up real big and our defense pulled out a stop out there in the fourth quarter," said Panasiuk, who was in on both sacks on Glenbard North's final drive.

Glenbard North led 17-10 midway through the third quarter when Devion Hodges scored on an 11-yard touchdown run. Hodges again carried the load for the Panthers, rushing the ball 35 times for 180 yards.

Perhaps the biggest series of the game followed for Glenbard North when it had first-and-goal at the Lancers' 2-yard line with a chance to build a 2-touchdown lead. Lake Park held on four straight run plays to keep the score at 17-13.

"Defensively, we played well enough to win," said Panthers coach Ryan Wilkens. "Obviously, not being able to score in the red zone three different times hurt us. Turning the ball over at inopportune times hurt us. That's basically why we lost."

A Panthers fumble deep in their own territory led to Cameron Van Aswegen's 36-yard field goal that narrowed Lake Park's deficit to 17-13 with 9:01 left in the game.

Glenbard North appeared to have clinched the victory with Luke Greenberg's interception return for a touchdown with four minutes left, but a chop-block penalty on the return instead started the Panthers' possession at Lake Park's 40. A punt into the end zone gave the ball to Lake Park at its own 20, and three plays later Fields found Jackson for the winning pass.

"The two losses we've had this year have been by a touchdown," said Lancers coach Chris Roll. "And when I saw us down by seven in this game, I knew the only way we were going to be able to move on this year was to pull this one out."

Glenbard North opened the scoring in the first quarter with Conway's 42-yard touchdown pass to Jace James. Steve Adamatis boosted the lead to 10-0 late in the first quarter with a 27-yard field goal.

Van Aswegen's 31-yard field goal puled Lake Park within 10-3 early in the second quarter. In the final minute of the half, Mike Perry found Jackson for a 27-yard touchdown pass that tied the halftime score at 10-10.

Follow Kevin on Twitter @kevin_schmit

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