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Lees, Libertyville skate past Bradley-Bourbonnais

With a mighty thrust on what could have been the final play of his stellar high school football career, Riley Lees extended his arm and, as a result, Libertyville's season.

"He's a special player," linebacker Riley Buncic said amid a white sea of madness on Bradley-Bourbonnais' snow-covered field, after Lees' lunge broke the end-zone plan from 1-yard out on the final play of the game to give Libertyville a heart-stopping, 22-17 win in a Class 7A state semifinal Saturday. "When we need someone to step up, he's the man. He never shows any signs of giving up."

All was right for Libertyville, which wore its all-white uniforms (white numerals, too) on a gray afternoon that featured horizontal snow due to whipping winds. Lees overcame what he called "one of my worst performances" (2 interceptions, 2 lost fumbles) by scoring undoubtedly the biggest touchdown of his life on a make-or-break quarterback sneak as time expired.

The win lifted No. 3 Libertyville into its first state championship game since 2004. The Wildcats (13-0) will play top-seeded Glenbard West (13-0) at 4 p.m. next Saturday at Northern Illinois University's Huskie Stadium in DeKalb.

No. 23 Bradley-Bourbonnais finished 9-4 in what was its longest playoff run in school history.

"We haven't been trailing all season, and we found a way to win today," Libertyville wide receiver Tim Calamari said. "We're going (to state). It feels exciting."

Up 14-0 after one quarter thanks to Lees' TD runs of 1 and 74 yards, Libertyville allowed a 64-yard touchdown pass from Owen Starr to Cameron Harrell to pull Bradley-Bourbonnais within 14-7 midway through the second quarter. The Boilermakers tied the score on their first series of the second half after Harrell intercepted Lees at midfield and returned the ball to the Libertyville 22. Six plays later, Harrell rushed in from 4 yards out.

The Wildcats couldn't capitalize on a J.J. Cervino interception, and then early in the fourth, Lees fumbled away the ball at the 50. After 12 plays, Bradley-Bourbonnais settled for Josh Lazaro's 24-yard field that snapped the tie with 3:37 left.

Lees and his offensive teammates responded immediately, with Lees' 45-yard dash helping move the ball to the home team's 28. Lees took off again on second-and-8 and had first-down yardage, but linebacker Mason DeLong forced the ball out of Lees' hands inside the 10, and Damien Williams recovered for the Boilermakers.

On the next snap, a fumbled exchange resulted in Buncic tackling running back Noah Fritz in the end zone for a safety with 2:30 to go.

"I had the blitz," Buncic said. "If he didn't grab it, I would have picked it up and gotten the touchdown."

After the free kick, trailing 17-16, Libertyville took over at its own 40. Lees completed passes to Calamari (12 yards), Henry Schmidt (15 yards), Cam Shaffer (21 yards) and Calamari again (8 yards) to get the ball to the 3. With Libertyville out of timeouts, Lees gained 2 yards and then none on a sneak, and then hustled his team to the line of scrimmage for one final shot with the final seconds ticking off.

"We usually use code words," junior offensive tackle Tyler Jost said. "Riley just said, '26 Power, 26 Power,' one on one. We just went for it. I got a pancake (block) on the last play. It felt awesome. I looked back and saw Riley in the end zone. We were just waiting for the (touchdown) signal, and we got it."

Barely. The home crowd went ballistic, as Libertyville's players stormed the field.

"I just jumped over (the defense)," Lees said. "I didn't know where the goal line was. I just stuck the ball out."

"I turned around and I knew he was in," said Calamari, who was lined up wide right.

Lees finished with 227 yards rushing on 29 carries, and his 3 TDs gave him 33 for the season. The 2 interceptions were only the fifth and sixth thrown all season by the Northwestern commit, who this past week was named to the IHSFCA all-state team for the second year in a row.

"We stuck together as a team," Lees said. "It's not an individual sport. The defense picked us up all game. I was struggling all night."

Not at the end.

Images: Libertyville vs. Bradley-Bourbonnais football

  Jason Tse of Libertyville moves the ball in heavy snowfall during the Class 7A state semifinals at Bradley-Bourbonnais on Saturday. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
  Colin BeDell of Bradley-Bourbonnais, left, along with Brian McAuliffe and Riley Buncic of Libertyville jump for the ball in Class 7A state semifinal play Saturday at Bradley-Bourbonnais. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
  Riley Lees of Libertyville advances the ball during the Class 7A state semifinal at Bradley-Bourbonnais on Saturday. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
  Avery Fairrow of Bradley-Bourbonnais and Jack Neal of Libertyville dive for the ball during the Class 7A state semifinals at Bradley-Bourbonnais on Saturday. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
  Brendan Powers of Bradley-Bourbonnais gets pulled down by Anthony Tubek of Libertyville during the Class 7A state semifinals at Bradley-Bourbonnais on Saturday. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
  Tim Calamari celebrates Libertyville's win over Bradley-Bourbonnais on Saturday night. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
  Jason Tse celebrates Libertyville's state semifinal triumph against host Bradley-Bourbonnais on Saturday. Paul Michna/pmichna@dailyherald.com
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