Deerfield hangs on against Maine West
Maine West's football team came up 8 points short of a playoff berth on Friday night.
Deerfield scored 21 unanswered points to begin the Central Suburban North matchup and held on to a 28-21 victory.
"We knew coming into this game that it was going to be a big one" Deerfield quarterback Jonah Silverglade said. "We knew it was going to be a dogfight, but we just kept on pressing."
The biggest blow for Maine West came with 2.1 seconds left in the second quarter. After a facemask penalty put Deerfield on the 1-yard line, Silverglade ran behind his guard and tackle to the right side and tiptoed in for an easy touchdown.
"That was a killer," Maine West coach Jason Kradman said. "We ended up being one touchdown short, but I'm proud of our guys. We fought all the way to the end."
The second half was a different story for Maine West as it recovered a fumble on the opening kick of the second half. Only six plays later, Malik Seim bulldozed his way through a handful of Deerfield defenders to give Maine West its first touchdown.
"That gave us some juice," Kradman said. "It was the opening possession for them, but our special teams got the ball out. It really re-energized us. It made our guys believe again."
Maine West also showed some resilience in the fourth quarter. After giving up a 21-yard touchdown run to Silverglade, quarterback Sam Kindle bombed a pass down the left sideline and Matt Kentgen made a catch going against his body and stayed in bounds for a 27-yard touchdown.
Maine West outscored Deerfield 21-7 in the second half.
"We just came out flat (in the second half)," Silverglade said. "It was good that we got out to a 21-point lead, but we stopped playing there for a little. I don't think the fumble (changed the game), again, we just came out flat. That is football sometimes."
Despite the second-half effort, Maine West could not contain Silverglade.
The quarterback ran for 167 yards on 20 carries with 2 touchdowns. His biggest gain came on Deerfield's first drive.
After a Maine West fumble, He faked a draw and ran down right sideline, then made a cut to his right, eluding three Maine West defenders on his way to a 55-yard touchdown.
" First off, it was a great call by the coaches," Silverglade said. "Our line did a great job of blocking and making holes. I felt some pressure on the back side [at the 20 yard line] and just cut right."
Both teams have won four games and will need a road victory in order to be eligible for the playoffs. Maine West will travel to Northbrook to take on Glenbrook North, while Deerfield will take on Maine East.
"We don't quite know how to be champions yet," Kradman said. "We have been down for so long. We are still continuing to work with our guys, and try to turn this thing all the way around."