Glenbrook North pulls away late at Maine West
Maine West's final attempt to earn a playoff berth looked like it might go to down to the wire when the Warriors scored a tying touchdown late in the third quarter against visiting Glenbrook North.
Virtually all of their momentum, however, quickly evaporated when the Spartans' Jimmy Karfis sprinted away for a 62-yard score less than a minute later.
Karfis kept racking up yards after that and took Maine West's postseason hopes with him in a 42-14 victory that gave Glenbrook North a share of the Central Suburban North title Friday night.
The Spartans junior running back finished with 4 touchdowns and 240 yards on 21 attempts, gaining 178 in the final 12½ minutes. Alexander Bubaris provided a 54-yard scoring run early in the third quarter, and Luke Amen capped the victory with a 33-yard interception return with 3:16 remaining.
The Warriors were denied their first playoff berth since 2002 and a chance to try for the first postseason win in program history.
“We battled back to 14-14. That was something to certainly be proud of, but we have to be able to take the next step,” coach Jason Kradman said.
It was likely difficult to imagine a lopsided final score when the teams were playing a tight contest for much of three quarters. The Spartans (8-1, 4-1) scored first on Karfis' 26-yard run with 2:04 left in the first quarter, but Maine West (4-5, 2-3) responded with an eight-play drive.
The Warriors' Ivan Stoitzev completed a 28-yard pass to Ely Grimmer on a fake punt and Sam Kindle connected with Matt Kentgen on a 31-yarder before sneaking the ball in from the 1. Kindle also scored on another sneak with 1:13 to go in the third quarter then Karfis broke off his long run with 20 seconds remaining in the period. The Spartans running back also ended his team's next two possessions with scores.
Anthony Henley led Maine West with 112 yards on 18 attempts and is one of 28 seniors who are leaving the program. The Warriors have increased their win total in each of Kradman's three seasons but just missed getting two more victories this year. They lost 13-0 to currently unbeaten Rolling Meadows on Sept. 16 with the Mustangs scoring both touchdowns via interceptions. They were also edged 28-21 at Deerfield last weekend.
Maine West was hindered by 3 turnovers in this game, including a fumble at Glenbrook North's 3-yard line in the second quarter, and 13 penalties for 91 yards.
“We did some nice things this year. We got to four wins by Week 6. I wish we had the Rolling Meadows and the Deerfield games back. I feel like we gave those games away,” Kradman said. “I'm proud of our guys. I'm proud of our assistant coaches. They did a fantastic job getting these guys ready to play. Hopefully, this (season) is a step in the right direction.”