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Class 8A playoffs: Stevenson takes down Loyola

Twice in the final six minutes of regulation, Loyola had a shot at déjà vu.

Reminded of the bitter taste from last year's semifinal loss, Stevenson's defensive swarm would have none of it.

"We've been waiting for this game for a very long time," said Patriots senior linebacker Blake Drazner. "Ever since they knocked us out last year - just the emotion and everything - we knew we had to make big plays."

Simply put, pivotal fourth-down stops of the Ramblers' final two possessions were sweet Patriot payback.

With the help of 3 sacks over the visitors' final seven offensive plays - the latter a Drazner sandwich of quarterback Aidan Walsh on fourth-and-1 with under a minute remaining - Stevenson survived and advanced to a second-straight Class 8A quarterfinal berth with Saturday's 24-21 second-round win.

"It's a four-quarter football game and we knew it was going to be a battle for four quarters," said Stevenson coach Bill McNamara. "You play Loyola, they're a physical, great football team and so are we. We made a lot of plays today, offensively, and the defense really stepped up big at the end of the game."

The win sets up Stevenson (11-0) at home against New Trier (10-1), a 28-27 overtime victor over Curie, in an Elite Eight showdown.

Getting there required big plays on both sides of the football.

Thanks to the heady play of senior signalcaller Willie Bourbon and a stifling defense, the Patriots were on their way early Saturday with a 17-0 first half lead.

Bourbon, who completed 14-of-23 for 214 yards with 2 interceptions, sandwiched a 42-yard Mike Gambino field goal with a 26-yard scoring strike to Henry Marchese on the game's opening drive and a pitch-perfect 39-yard scoring toss to Jack Sorenson with 2:55 remaining in the half.

"We knew we had to get the ball to our playmakers," said Bourbon, who completed passes to six different Patriots. "Cameron Green, Jack Sorenson, those are some guys that are going to go up and make plays. That's how I am. I'm the distributor. I'm the point guard. All I do is get them the ball and they make the plays."

With the pedal nearing the floor, however, the visitors reached for the emergency brake.

Loyola (8-3) caught lightning in a bottle and turned the tide after being held to punts on its first three possessions.

Despite a sack on the opening play of their fourth possession, the Ramblers turned to Walsh with time winding down.

The third-string quarterback turned starter moved the chains three times in the final two minutes before finding Owen Buscaglia in the end zone from 18 yards out with 28.8 seconds remaining in the half.

It was more of the same on the flip side.

The Ramblers regained possession in the third quarter and didn't skip a beat, driving 80 yards to a 6-yard pitch and catch from Walsh to Spencer Cecola for a one-possession game.

Stevenson's first two drives of the third quarter ended with a fumble and punt, respectively, but the Patriots found a break when Drazner recovered a fumble at the end of a first-down run.

Bourbon found Green with a 27-yard strike at the Ramblers' 11-yard line.

Tailback Jack Joseph then took a pitch and hurdled a Loyola defender en route to pay dirt for what would be the decisive score.

After the home team stopped Walsh one yard shy of a first down on the next Rambler drive, Loyola caught a break when Emmett Russell intercepted Bourbon.

Walsh landed strikes of 16 and 22 and then picked up 13 on the ground to set up Mark Nichol with a 3-yard scoring plunge to make it a 3-point game with 8:28 remaining.

Stevenson milked the clock on its next drive with aid of two pass interference penalties. But a holding penalty and stops in the ground game led to a short punt. Loyola was unable to go anywhere as sacks from Nick Dillon and Nischay Vallabhaneni capped a four-and-out.

More Patriot clockwork led to one final possession for the Ramblers with 58.4 seconds remaining.

A spike followed a first down gain of 9 yards, and an incompletion set up a pivotal fourth down and Drazner's capper.

"We got down to short yardage, so I had a feeling he was going to do something," the linebacker said. "I saw their guard pull, so I shot the gap and made the tackle."

Two Bourbon kneel downs and redemption was complete.

"That loss drove me and all of the seniors throughout the whole offseason," Drazner added. "We've been waiting for this game for so long. It drove us in the weight room and the early morning lifts. It's so awesome to get this."

"It means the world," Bourbon said. "We knew we were going to get a good team. We knew we were going to have to come out and play our best game."

Stevenson outgained Loyola 299 to 278 in total offensive yards, largely due to the passing game.

For Loyola, Walsh hit 16-of-27 for 184 yards and two scores passing with 21 carries for 67 yards to pace the Ramblers' ground game.

On the flip side, Joseph led the Patriots with 57 yards on 12 carries with a score. Green pulled down 6 receptions for 83 yards and Sorenson reeled in three grabs for 60 yards and a score.

Defensively, Stevenson tallied 6 sacks led by Dillon's two.

"We had a lot of good things going on, multiple touches by several players, and I think that's what makes us great," McNamara said. "We had pretty good balance and ball distribution. We talk to Will and he's the point guard of our offense, he's Chris Paul, he's going to distribute the ball."

With revenge on the back burner, Stevenson's attention turns to New Trier and an opportunity at a second consecutive semifinal berth.

"There's no doubt, last year (Loyola winning in the last minute) really hurt in the semifinals," McNamara added. "But that was last year. We were really focused on this year and the ways we could win the football game.

"The Patriot Nation came out and we had great support, the kids played awesome. We survived and advanced and we go to the quarterfinals. Every team is good from here on out. You've got to play good to win."

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