Special approach helps Antioch past Wauconda

Antioch football coach Brian Glashagel felt his special teams might come up big in the final regular-season game on Friday night.

And thanks to running back Jacob Lanahan, that plan worked to perfection late in the third quarter at Wauconda. Lanahan grabbed a Bulldogs punt and raced virtually untouched on a 67-yard dash for a touchdown.

Antioch (7-2) will head to the playoffs next weekend by virtue of a 33-20 win, which ended Wauconda's season at 4-5. The Bulldogs can look back at two earlier games that got away in the final seconds.

Lanahan's TD return for the score gave the Sequoits a commanding 27-7 lead heading to the final quarter.

"I was just focusing on catching the ball,'' Lanahan said. "I got some great blocks."

When Lanahan reached the Bulldogs' 10, there was not a defender around to stop him. Instead, he was escorted to the end zone by Antioch blockers.

Glashagel knew what his team's challenges were in this season finale.

"We knew that was a playoff game for Wauconda,'' Glashagel said. "We expected their best game."

Antioch took a two-touchdown lead to halftime. Wauconda used an 11-play drive to opend the second half, as Bulldogs quarterback Kevin Malisheski finally finished it with a 2-yard TD to Parker Fink. This fourth-down play cut the Sequoits' lead in half at 14-7.

Antioch need only 7 plays to extend their lead to two scores. One key play was a Dan Meade pass play to Nick Andre that covered 21 yards. TJ Pilarczyk's first carry of the night was good for 23 yards and a 21-7 lead.

The Sequoits defense caused problems for Wauconda's strong-armed quarterback, Malisheski. He was picked off twice, the first time by Nick Mentone.

"It was like slow motion for me,'' Mentone said. "I had so much adrenaline. I wanted to cut across the field but I was too slow."

Glashagel was well aware his defense was going to get tested by the Wauconda throwing game.

"I think they threw the ball every snap,'' he said.

Favored Antioch dropped a pair of fumbles in the first quarter, slowing their progress.

"We fumbled early,'' Glashagel said. "We had some new guys in there. We had some timing issues."

While Lanahan chewed up the most yardage for Antioch (99 yards), the TD carries in the first half went to teammate Alan Taylor. He scored on short spurts of 2 and 3 yards.

After a short Malisheski score in the fourth quarter, Antioch chewed up some clock with a 14-play drive. It was all runs. Nick Dorosan got the call for the touchdown from 4 yards out.

Wauconda's final TD of the season came when Malisheski found Marc Vukovich from 27 yards out. It came with 27 seconds left in the final quarter.

"We had a couple of tough losses,'' Vukovich said. "But it's been fun. The senior class was great."