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Feel-good finish for Hergenreder, Warren

Corrected for Vernon Hills' overall record (5-3).

Most fans remember the football movie Any Given Sunday, starring Al Pacino.

A central notion from that film was central to the high school game Friday night in Gurnee, where fighting for every inch made all the difference in the world.

Vernon Hills and Warren fought tooth and nail on a brisk evening, but in the end, it was those final inches that ultimately produced a thrilling 27-26 victory for the Blue Devils over the Cougars in North Suburban crossover action.

After Vernon Hills scored first in the second extra session to take a 26-20 advantage, Warren promptly answered back when senior running back Darrius Crump raced in from 5 yards out.

Then came the all-important extra point by junior place-kicker Brandon Hergenreder, who had missed a 30-yard field goal at the end of regulation, along with the first extra-point that would have also won it in the first overtime.

"That's by far one of my biggest kicks," said Hergenreder, who assumed all responsibility for the two aforementioned misses. "I felt good about the first field goal at the end of the game and just missed it. The first extra point in the first overtime was all on me. But that last one, I nailed it. It was senior night, so I thought of doing it for them."

The seniors, not to mention the entire Warren team and its faithful, certainly appreciated it because for all intents and purposes, the win most likely secured an at-large playoff berth as Warren improved to 5-3 overall before heading to Lake Zurich next Friday for the regular-season finale.

"A tough win against a good football team," added Hergenreder. "We didn't play well at all in the first half and got yelled at during halftime. That motivated us and we settled down to play Warren football."

It was a penalty-ridden first half for Warren but they still managed to hold a 7-6 lead.

Senior running back Darrius Crump was the big workhorse on the evening for Warren, rushing for 170 yards on 31 carries, including a 1-yard scamper for Warren's score in the opening 24 minutes.

Vernon Hills slipped to 5-3 overall but could assure itself of a postseason appearance with a victory over Round Lake in Week 9.

The Cougars answered the Warren touchdown in the first half when senior quarterback Connor McNamara tossed a 1-yard scoring strike to senior wideout Kiwanne Durant.

Warren took a 14-7 lead with 4:45 left in the third when Crump raced in again from 1 yard out.

But Vernon Hills showed its resiliency in tying the game with 5:38 left in regulation when McNamara hit junior wideout Drew Winegardner with a 10-yard scoring strike to draw within 14-12. McNamara then calmly tossed the 2-point conversion to Hull.

Hergenreder then missed a potential game-winning field goal from 30 yards out with 16 seconds remaining and we were headed for overtime.

Warren scored first when Crump added his third touchdown of the game but the extra-point was missed after a bad snap. Then Vernon Hills got the ball first in the second extra session when senior wideout Josh Williams hauled in a 5-yard pass from McNamara, and the extra point was missed.

Crump raced in for his fourth score of the game before the heroics by Hergenreder's heroic extra-point gave Warren the win.

McNamara completed 22-of-46 passes on the evening for 187 yards and 4 touchdowns.

"Even though we lost, we fought hard and showed a lot of heart and persistence," said McNamara, whose tossed 22 touchdown passes this fall. "We never stopped fighting. We were fired up when we tied it. I just tried to get the ball to our playmakers."

Winegardner was one of McNamara's favorite targets on the evening with 7 catches for 84 yards.

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