IC Catholic Prep beats Glenbard South in third OT

IC Catholic Prep running back Jordan Rowell said he couldn't feel much from his bruised right shoulder down to the fingers, courtesy of hard-hitting Dillon Valdez and the Glenbard South Raiders.

Rowell's arm, with the ball tucked inside, followed center Jim Kenneally and fullback Brendan O'Brien 1 yard across the goal line to deliver a 34-28 triple-overtime win over the Raiders at Lewis Stadium in Elmhurst.

"After I scored the touchdown it was like, 'Celebration here we come.' I was ready," said the 6-foot-2, 194-pound junior. "We call (the winning play) 'Bravo East' and it's just right up the middle as fast as we can. Hit the biggest hole we see and just get in."

In the process IC (7-1, 4-0) wrested control of the Metro Suburban Conference West Division over Glenbard South (5-3, 3-1). The Knights end the regular season against Fenton, 0-4 in the West, with Glenbard South finishing against 3-1 Riverside-Brookfield.

"That was a great football team, one of the best football teams we've seen all year," said IC coach Bill Krefft. "So when you talk about that kind of game with that kind of team we knew there was no quit in them and it was going to be a four-quarter game, so we kind of mentally prepared for it."

Four quarters and more. Both teams turned the ball over in a scoreless first overtime, and both scored in the second. Rowell scored on a 4-yard run and Glenbard South sophomore quarterback Jack Crouch threw to Ryan Willis for a 10-yard score. IC kicker Sam Buffo and Raiders counterpart Michael Brosnan made it 28-28.

In the third overtime IC denied two run plays and two passes, Rowell breaking up Crouch's last pass then taking matters into his hands offensively.

Glenbard South coach Ryan Crissey said: "I asked the kids, did you give maximum effort - and I really believe that they did, it's a rhetorical question. And that's all I can ask for, and just move forward."

Glenbard South appeared it might bag the win when running back Sean Cooke's 6-yard touchdown run gave the Raiders a 21-14 lead with 7:22 left to play.

With 1:58 left, 67 yards to go and no timeouts, Knights quarterback Luke Ricobene marched his club to a 21-21 tie with 1:05 to play. He found receiver Luke Calles all alone down the right side for a 38-yard touchdown pass.

"We were running that pattern all night and we noticed the corner was biting up on that deep out route," Calles said. "So our offensive coordinator (Tony Navigato) called that play and he made note that the fade route would be open and our quarterback just delivered a great throw on the run."

This also was a lot about running backs. Rowell ran 30 times for 81 yards and 4 touchdowns, Cooke ran a whopping 38 times for 175 yards, 2 touchdowns.

"They're a heck of a team over there," Cooke said. "They fought hard all game and so did we. Both teams put their best effort on the field. Sometimes the ball just bounces your way and tonight it wasn't us."