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Prospect teams up for win over Hinsdale South

When Andrew Shafis raced 9 yards on a keeper for the game-deciding touchdown with 3:35 left on Friday night, it gave the Prospect senior quarterback exactly 100 rushing yards.

But all Shafis wanted to do was give 100 percent credit to everyone else, especially the linemen in front of him.

"They're more important than me," said Shafis after leading the Knights to a come-from-behind 20-16 triumph over Hinsdale South at George Gattas Memorial Stadium in Mt. Prospect. "They are the ones wearing down the defense. Plus, I love them as much as my family. It's not a one man game, it's an 11-man game."

The Knights proved that in all phases of the game.

The defense stepped up with a big game-ending stop in the final three minutes.

The special teams delivered all night with a blocked field goal, a blocked punt and 2 field goals from Jack Pruban, including a 45 yarder believed to be a school record. Pruban missed last season with a leg injury but as a sophomore kicked a winning field goal against Wheeling.

"The kids played their tails off," said Prospect coach Mike Sebestyen. "It's nice to see them have fun. I know early in the game people might have been saying why aren't they passing? It's because we want to try and wear down the other teams with our big guys blocking."

Those big guys up front included Billy Matzek, Vince Shields, Brennan Keane, Evan Sadlon, Alex Palczewski, Oliver Pagano and Sam Stolidakis.

They paved the way for Shafis' 1-yard touchdown on a QB sneak in the second quarter which gave the Knights a 10-7 lead before Pruban's 45-yard field goal as time expired made it 13-7 at intermission.

"It starts with their (Prospect's) offensive line," said Hornets coach Mike Barry. "They've got the big boys up front and they're able to keep drives alive. We've got to figure out how to stop that.

"Hats off to Prospect. They're a good physical football team and they kind of toughened us up."

Trailing 16-13, the Knights were sure tough when they had to be in the final quarter.

The winning drive went 69 yards and included a crucial 15-yard pass from Shafis to Zach Gleason to get the Knights into the Hornets' side of the field.

Three straight carries by Brandon Onori resulted in 26 yards and two more first downs to the Hornets' 20 yard line.

Shafis rushed the next two plays for 9 yards before Onori went 2 yards for another first down at the 9-yard line.

Shafis then took off around left end for the go-ahead score.

"He's (Shafis) a great runner and he's learning to throw," Sebestyen said. "He's getting way better throwing and that was obvious in the last drive. He put that ball right on Gleason."

Pruban put the ensuing kick off out of the end zone, forcing Hindsdale South to start from its own 20. The Hornets took seven plays to cross midfield before coming up to a fourth and 6 from the Knights' 42-yard line. Dante Cecala intercepted a deflected ball with under a mintue left to seal the verdict.

Shafis, who handed off the ball to his brother Michael three straight times early in the fourth quarter ("my mom liked that," he said with a smile), finished with 24 carries to reach the century mark.

"He's 6-foot-3, 200 pounds," Sebestyn said. "He's a tough kid to tackle and he just gets stronger as the game goes."

Senior Jeremy Potratz' blocked punt set up Pruban's 45-yard field goal on a hold from Nick Ergastolo.

The Knights also blocked an extra point which kept the game tied at 13-13 late in the third quarter.

"Special teams were huge," said Sebestyen, whose father Don is the special teams coordinator and also in charge of the offensive line and defensive backs. "We've talked about needing the special teams to help us win a game at some point, and in a way, this was special teams win."

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