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Time is on Marian Central's side against Carmel

For an athlete, running a four-minute mile is a milestone.

For a person waiting to eat a meal, four minutes seems like a lifetime.

In the case of the East Suburban Catholic Conference clash between the Carmel Corsairs and Marian Central Hurricanes Friday night in Woodstock, the final four minutes of the fourth quarter determined the game's outcome and both team's playoff fate.

A constant swinging of emotions on both fans, coaches and players, the Hurricanes seized the moment in the final quarter and locked up an automatic state playoff berth with a 19-14 victory. The loss for the Corsairs eliminated them from playoff contention.

With Carmel (3-5, 3-4 in East Suburban Catholic Conference) holding on to a 14-12 lead with just over four minutes left, defensive back Nichols Funteas made a huge play by stepping in and intercepting a sideline throw from Hurricane quarterback Chewy Budmayr. Two plays later, Corsairs quarterback Jeremy Strutzel lost the football while attempting to hand it off and Isaac McGuire recovered for Marian Central at the Carmel 33.

The Corsairs defense held strong on the first two plays of the ensuing drive. Even at the start of the third play, they had Budmayr on the run, but the elusive senior quarterback rolled away from multiple defenders and lofted a pinpoint pass to receiver Eric Ruschke for a 36-yard touchdown reception to give Marian Central (6-2, 4-2 in East Suburban) the lead with 2:05 to go.

"It was actually a play that we ran earlier this year," said Budmayr. "I hit (Jarryd) Cabusao on an out but they (Carmel) took it away. So I rolled around looking for something else and I saw Eric and knew to get the ball to him."

Ruschke was way downfield and saw that Budmayr was under duress.

"It was a back-side post route," he said. "At first, I thought it was a broken play as I saw Chewy running around. I just knew I had to get there and he made a heck of a play."

The Corsairs then got a first down on the first two plays of their next drive but Strutzel, running the option, had his pitch deflected to the turf and recovered by the Hurricanes.

However Carmel's defense held firm, as they did all night, and forced Marian Central's kicker Jake Higgins, who connected from 24 and 43 yards earlier in the game to miss wide left, giving their offense one more opportunity with 56 seconds left. However, on the first play, Strutzel's pass was intercepted by linebacker Wyatt Awe to seal the outcome.

It was an unfortunate ending to an otherwise solid game from Strutzel, who racked up a game high 112 yards rushing and scored both Corsairs touchdowns from 2 and 53 yards out respectively.

"We had a chance to run the clock out and win the game," said Carmel coach Andy Bitto. "But we fumbled the ball, the first time all game. It was a bummer. I think especially on defense we played with a lot of chutzpah. On offense we were chipping away at it. In games like this, I think it comes down to three or four big plays, and we just did not win those big plays."

Bitto still was proud of his Corsairs despite the outcome.

"I'm proud of my kids," he said "They've had a lot of injuries this year and we've had a chance to win, especially tonight, and Marian bested us."

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