Grayslake North topples Wauconda in final minutes
Two different days for football in Grayslake. On Friday, the offenses struggled to pick up scores.
"Never have we played on back-to-back days,'' said Grayslake North quarterback Austin Martineau. "We had a lot of movement but didn't capitalize on it."
The rains and lightning interrupted play between the Northern Lake County Conference Wauconda and Grayslake North on Friday night.
The teams returned to the field on Saturday afternoon. And both offenses clicked in.
Martineau (20-for-30, 290 yards) completed a short touchdown pass to Zach Carter and North scored in the final minutes to register its third win in a row, 21-14 over the Bulldogs.
The final march was set up by a Martineau to Joe Swanson pass play that covered 48 yards. Swanson seemed to trip his way downfield.
"I ran a short,'' Swanson noted. "I got by the safety. I don't know how I kept on my feet."
On Friday night, Wauconda (3-4, 2-3) ran a 14-play drive to open the contest. It did not pay off with points. The first 5 plays went to running back Eric Trela. He finished with 21 carries for 88 yards.
"This was our best defensive play of the year,'' said North coach Sam Baker. "They really did a nice job."
Is that the case, defensive coordinator Andy Strahan?
"Our kids made some nice adjustments,'' Strahan said. "Wauconda's quarterback (Nick Bulgarelli) is shifty and made some good plays."
It was 6-0 at halftime when Martineau found Tony Hines II open on a 24 yard pass play.
It was 7-6 heading to the final quarter on Saturday. Bulgarellii took it himself from 4 yards out and gave Wauconda a 7-6 lead when he made the extra point.
It was North's turn to go on a long march to open the fourth quarter. This 13-play drive was highlighted by two passes to Swanson. A few penalties hurt the Knights' cause but Martineau found Nick Lovitsch open for a 27-yard scoring pass. The 2-point conversion was good from Martineau to Zach Carter.
"We have improved a lot,'' Lovitsch said. "This is a big win for us."
A short field helped Wauconda even the score less than a minute later. The big play was a 33-yard pass from Bulgarelli to Javerius McGuinn. McGuinn's only carry of the game paid off with a TD run of 9 yards.
"Never had we played like this,'' Baker said. "We had rain delays but not like this."