Faced with postseason challenge, Vernon Hills thrives
With five, the Vernon Hills football team is still alive.
The Cougars have been in must-win mode for a while now, and they keep rising to the occasion.
Their latest triumph in staying relevant in the playoff race was a 20-6 win at Grant on Saturday afternoon.
Now, the Cougars are 5-3 on the season (4-2 North Suburban Conference Prairie Division) and could qualify for the IHSA playoff field if they have enough playoff points when the regular season ends next weekend. They would actually qualify for the playoffs outright if they can defeat Lake Zurich in their season finale crossover on Friday. That would give them their sixth win.
"We had a really good week of practice and we knew this was win or go home," Vernon Hills receiver Robby Nardini said. "We rose to the occasion. It was a lot of fun."
Nardini caught 5 passes for 72 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter on the halfback option from Kyle Hull. It gave Vernon Hills a 14-0 lead at halftime.
The Cougars scored their first touchdown late in the first quarter on a 9-yard pass from quarterback Connor McNamara to David Levering.
McNamara completed 20 of 29 passes for 217 yards. He also scored on a 7-yard run midway through the fourth quarter for the Cougars' final score.
"We all knew what we were playing for. We really want to make the playoffs. We knew what a big game this was to become eligible," McNamara said. "We made a few mistakes, but overall it was good teamwork."
Grant (2-6, 2-3 NSC Prairie) finally got on the scoreboard early in the fourth quarter when running back John Bettis capped a seven-play drive with an 11-yard touchdown run. The Bulldogs intercepted a McNamara pass to set up the drive.
Grant missed on two other opportunities inside the red zone. One possession ended on a turnover on downs in the first quarter and the other came in the second quarter when the Bulldogs fumbled the ball away.
"Our offense needs to do its job. We didn't step up as much as we should have. We need to score more," said Grant quarterback Spencer Lhotka, who completed 3-of-6 passes for 43 yards. "We got in scoring position a couple of times and we didn't get to score."
Running back Tim Hollins wasn't able to score, but he was a workhorse for the Bulldogs. He had a game-high 120 rushing yards on 22 carries for Grant.
"We're close and we had chances, but we've got to start making plays at one time or another," Grant coach Vito Andriola said. "But they're (Vernon Hills) a good team and we got their best effort. We did play some good defense for a little bit."
The Grant defense kept the Cougars' up-tempo offense relatively in check and even came up with 2 interceptions, both of which were by Jose Robles.
"It was like another playoff game where you really need to execute the game plan. We still had very few mistakes today, just like last week (in a win over Wauconda)," Vernon Hills coach Bill Bellecomo said. "In crunch time when the game has really been on the line, I think we've really kept our cool. I hope that helps us going forward."