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Wheaton North survives against Lake Park

They don't get any weirder than this.

Lake Park quarterback Jaron Fields' attempt to spike the ball and kill the clock at the Wheaton North 24-yard line with his team driving for the go-ahead score and less than 40 seconds remaining was ruled a fumble recovered by the Falcons' Brendon Gambill.

The ruling, made after a lengthy huddle by the officials, allowed Wheaton North to run out the clock and preserve a 23-21 victory in the DuPage Valley Conference Friday in Roselle.

Both sides were looking forward to watching game film to see exactly what happened.

"The whole thing was strange," Lake Park coach Chris Roll said. "(Fields) was trying to spike the ball, but the head official didn't see it. He's a good official. I've seen him work before. But I asked him, 'Is this the way you want this game to end? Make sure you're positive.' I guess we'll see on film tomorrow.

"It was a great game," Roll added. "Both teams played well. We had our opportunities. We fumbled (at the Wheaton North 22-yard line) on our previous possession. Still, it's hard to lose that way."

Wheaton North (3-2, 3-1) opened the scoring six minutes into the first quarter when junior quarterback Luke Anthony found Adam Terrini streaking down the left sidelines for an 81-yard touchdown strike. But Lake Park needed just 15 seconds to answer when Fields completed a short pass over the middle to Anthony Marino, who outraced the secondary 65 yards to tie the score at 7-7.

Lake Park (2-3, 2-2) took a 14-7 lead early on the second quarter when Fields capped a 7-play, 45-yard drive with a 20-yard dash up the middle. But Wheaton North answered twice before halftime, grabbing a 16-14 lead on a 41-yard field goal by Jake Barry that bounced off the right upright and crossbar before going through, and a 6-yard touchdown pass from Anthony to Marcus Gustaveson with 55 seconds remaining in the second quarter.

"Our offense played a real good game," said Anthony, who completed 25 of 36 passes for 262 yards and 3 touchdowns. "Those (the Lancers' Jacob and Mike) Panasiuks are some big boys. It was nerve-wracking there at the end. That play could have gone either way."

Anthony's 22-yard pass to Adam Terrini extended the Falcons' lead to 23-14 late in the third quarter, but Lake Park countered on a 17-yard run by Fields with 8:22 remaining to set up the bizarre finish.

"I've seen it on television," Wheaton North coach Joe Wardynski said, "but I've never been a part of something like that."

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