Aurora CC gets past Fenton
Aurora Central Catholic pulled off the most difficult task Friday night at just the right time - scoring while against a stiff wind in the third quarter to deflate a Fenton rally.
When Danny Lagatao dashed into the end zone from 4 yards out it proved to be enough to earn the Chargers a 19-8 homecoming victory over Fenton in a Metro Suburban West conference clash.
"We showed some real resilience tonight in taking the ball in the middle of the third quarter and driving in for the score," said ACC coach John Belskis.
Lagatao's score with 40 seconds left in the quarter capped a 36-yard drive and widened ACC's lead to the 19-8 score after Fenton muffed a punt attempt, leaving the Chargers deep in Bison territory.
"By scoring there, we took the wind away from their favor in the quarter," Belskis said. "It was the turning point in the game."
ACC (3-3, 1-1) needed the boost at the time, after dominating the first half at 12-0 but allowing Fenton back in the game in the third quarter.
Fenton's only score of the night was set up when Charger running back Ryan Cerza fumbled and Angel Nava recovered at Fenton's 45-yard line.
Three plays later, Greg Cazares shot off right tackle and into the open on his way to a 38-yard touchdown run, followed by a 2-point conversion pass from quarterback Eddie Saucedo to Tony Cantarelli to make it 12-8.
The fumble was the only real miscue for Cerza, who was the Chargers' workhorse with 28 carries for 156 yards and a 15-yard touchdown run to open the scoring at the 5:18 mark of the first quarter. His 156 yards helped boost ACC's rushing yards for the night to 186.
"We really had a good week of practice and carried it over into the game," Cerza said. "We came in real fired up for homecoming and it feels really good to win."
The Chargers' second touchdown came late in the first quarter when quarterback Johnny Belskis, with a defender right in his face, threw a 36-yard touchdown strike to Griffin Zajac streaking across the middle of the field.
Meanwhile, Fenton (2-4, 0-2) struggled to sustain drives, ending one with a fumble on the handoff exchange on a fourth-and-1 at the ACC 33-yard line, and having another squelched when Zajac picked off a Saucedo pass.
"Eddie's been our starting quarterback for two weeks after we lost our starter (Corey Hausen) to surgery, so he's learning on the fly," said Fenton coach Mark Kos. "He'll have his ups and downs and we'll learn from this, watch some film and coach him up."
Fenton gained only 131 total yards on offense, with 108 coming on the ground. ACC's active defensive front never let the Bison get on a roll, holding main running back Eric Lonergan to 60 yards on 16 carries.
"It's a younger squad, with only five seniors," Kos said of his team. "We're happy with the way we responded after losing to Glenbard South last week, and that shows something to the coaches."
However, Fenton did come out flat in the first half, with only 60 yards of total offense and four first downs. "Once we righted our ship, we did well," Kos said. "But this is week six and we can't keep using the youth as an excuse."
ACC stopped Fenton's last chance to score and try an onside kick to regain possession by forcing three straight incomplete passes deep in their own territory.
With just over four minutes left, ACC took over on its own 21 and drove down the field for 3 more first downs while chewing up the clock to 1:11 left.
Fenton's final gasp ended when Zajac pulled down his second interception of the night.
When asked if his team could entertain thoughts of postseason play with a tough Glenbard South team on the schedule next week, Belskis said, "We take it week by week and our mantra is that we wanted to be 1-0 at 9:30 tonight, and we were 1-0, so we'll enjoy this and go back to work Monday."