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Bank one big win for Behnke, Round Lake

All of 5 feet 7 and thick like a pickup truck, Brandon Behnke wears the largest jersey number on Round Lake's football team.

Saturday, No. 90 made a large play. The senior nose tackle emerged from a pile of navy (Round Lake) and white (North Chicago) jerseys, sprung to his feet and hustled to the sideline with a spring in his step.

It was understandable, for sure, after Behnke and his teammates stopped visiting North Chicago's conversion run with 33 seconds left in the fourth quarter of the North Suburban Prairie Division game, securing the Panthers' 7-6 win on a sunny homecoming in Round Lake.

Round Lake had broken a scoreless tie with 1:13 left in the fourth quarter on quarterback Tabieas Young's 5-yard touchdown run.

"It was the most exciting moment," Behnke, who's called 'Bulldog' by his coaches, said of helping stuff what would have been a game-winning PAT. "Finally get to win a homecoming after four years of hard work. I've been busting my butt in the weight room, everywhere. I'm just so happy it finally paid off."

So were all the Panthers. It was the first win this season for Round Lake (1-6, 1-3) and first for rookie head coach (and Round Lake alumnus) Cristo Garza. North Chicago fell to 1-6 and 0-4 with its fifth loss in a row.

"Hats off to our kids," Garza said. "I think they'd be the first ones to tell you that they probably didn't play their best game, but North Chicago played their butts off. (The game) had nothing to do with anything besides two teams just scrapping for a win."

Oh, yes, victory. Round Lake hadn't experienced it since Week 6 of last year against North Chicago.

"There are so many emotions going on," said Panthers linebacker/center Brett Herdman, who had 2 sacks and forced a fumble. "I'm so tired, but I'm happy. All I want to do is go out and have fun at homecoming, but I'm not sure I'll be able to move."

A scoreless game for more than three quarters, Round Lake finally seemed to get the break it needed when Brendon Matallanes recovered a muffed punt at the Panthers' 46. Young, a junior lefty, hit Nick Kowalski for 18 yards on fourth-and-11 to move the ball to the 9, but the Panthers fumbled it away on the next snap.

Round Lake's defense held, with Kowalski recovering a North Chicago fumble at the Warhawks 12. Three plays later, Young sprinted into the end zone, winning a race to the corner. As he reached the goal line, Young extended his hand almost nonchalantly. North Chicago's Cordell Bailey swiped at the ball and got it loose, but not before Young had just broken the goal-line plane.

"I always tell him, 'You got to get it into the end zone, but whatever you do, get down and get yards,' " Garza said of his young QB, who rushed for 45 yards and was 9-of-16 passing for 105 yards and 2 interceptions. "I think he forgot the 'get down' part."

Gianni Ocana drilled the PAT kick, but the game wasn't over.

Starting at its own 35 after the kickoff went out of bounds, North Chicago, aided by a pass-interference penalty, needed just five plays to score. Quarterback Damond Washington hit Josiah Bouie in the end zone from 22 yards out.

"I've been practicing two-minute (drill) with this team since I got here (last year)," Warhawks coach Johnny Johnson said. "It's an every-Wednesday, every-Thursday thing. So with (1:13) left and two timeouts, everybody's comfortable."

The decision to go for two was a no-brainer for Johnson.

"Hey, man, it's the toilet bowl," Johnson said. "We're 1-5. They're 1-6. (Kicking the PAT to tie the game) doesn't make any sense to me."

On the conversion, Round Lake's interior defense stopped the ball carrier before he got to the line of scrimmage. Johnson wasn't happy with his running back's decision to cut back to the left when the play was designed to run to the right.

All Round Lake knew was that it was seconds away from an overdue win.

"Brandon Behnke gets all the credit for that (PAT stop)," Herdman said of his teammate. "It was all thanks to him. That's how we won this game. The whole team is accountable, but Behnke clinched that game for us."

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