Metea Valley stuns West Aurora

Maurice Burkley had the game of his high school football life in his final appearance for Metea Valley Friday night against West Aurora.

With the Blackhawks looking to cement their first playoff berth in 21 years, the Mustangs rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to leave West Aurora on the bubble.

Burkley, after a pair of first-half scores raced, 79 yards late in the game to give the Mustangs their final score during their come-from-behind 44-37 victory in nonconference play at home in Aurora.

The Mustangs' feature back ended with 253 yards on 32 attempts.

"We stayed in the scheme," Burkley said of the Mustangs' 3 scores in 4 possessions after falling behind 37-23 midway through third quarter. "Being a senior, it was my job to make sure we got the lead back."

In one of the biggest plays of the night, Metea Valley quarterback Connor Lovely found Alec Dodson on a 70-yard strike on the Mustangs' first play from scrimmage after West Aurora quarterback Jonathan Doyle had a 2-yard sneak.

The fourth-down conversion gave West Aurora (5-4) its biggest lead of the night after a back-and-forth first half filled by big plays.

"Dodson is a great athlete," Lovely said. "I can't wait to see what he can do as a senior next year."

The Mustangs closed out their season at 4-5.

DaVion Cross and Drake Spears, an Illinois recruit, were sensation for West Aurora in the first half by scoring twice each for the Blackhawks.

Cross not only had the twin touchdowns but also returned a kickoff 79 yards.

The junior scored three plays later to give West Aurora a 30-23 halftime lead.

Cross later appeared to completely swing the momentum with a fourth-quarter interception in Metea Valley territory.

But West Aurora was cited for an illegal block on the return and never threatened again.

Penalties were the nemesis the entire second half as the infractions are magnified as spot fouls in high school.

"We're not the type of offense that can start first-and-20," West Aurora coach Nate Eimer said. "We have to clean some things up. We had a great chance to win but didn't close out the game. (Waiting to find out our playoff fate) is not what we wanted."

Metea Valley drew to within 37-36 of West Aurora on Blake Williams' 15-yard reception from Lovely and Benjamin Loutsis' compromise of a West Aurora secondary breakdown from 35 yards out.