Antioch roars back, tops Lakes
Winning games are on the side of Antioch as the Sequoits found another way on their Homecoming night against their district rival Lakes.
The Sequoits scored 36 unanswered points in come-from-behind fashion to beat the Eagles 43-24 on Friday night and also claim the Northern Lake County Conference championship.
At one point in the second quarter, Lakes (6-2, 5-1) held a 24-7 advantage but Antioch's Nick Wiley changed the momentum with a 72-yard kickoff return with 1:19 left before halftime. It was the turning point in favor of Antioch (8-0, 6-0).
"We had to make adjustments and make them on the fly," said Antioch coach Brian Glashagel, whose offense only had 13 offensive snaps in the first half. "Coach Eder and Lakes did a great job of sticking to their game plan, milking the clock and keeping our offense off the field. We knew we had to make some stops and get the ball back and score.
"It was playoff football. We had talked in the auditorium before the game that we had to make a play on special teams. Penalties and special team plays can break the game open. It did give us some momentum going into the half. We needed that and that was a huge play."
Antioch's defense stepped up in the second half with a pair of interceptions from Eli Venderwagen and Tre Watson.
Athan Kaliakmanis led the way with his arm on a fourth-and-9 when he connected with his brother Dino and reached the marker for an important first down at the Eagles' 15-yard line. Athan then scored a couple plays later from 2 yards out that made the score 24-21 with 6:16 left in the third quarter.
Antioch took over the lead for good early in the fourth after a Lakes turnover. Athan Kaliakmanis rushed for another score form a yard out for a 28-24 lead with 11:04 left in the fourth quarter.
Wiley added a 5-yard TD run with 4:27 left making it 35-24, that after Watson made a one-handed catch on a fourth-and-11 play for a 21-yard pass reception.
Brandon Reynolds (8 carries, 109 yards) broke loose for a 38-yard run into the end zone for the final score.
Lakes had the first half in hand, D'Lo Hardy (22 carries, 134 yards) opened the Eagles' scoring on the first drive on a 14-yard run with 6:32 left in the opening quarter.
Ryan Carr made it 14-0 catching a touchdown pass over the middle from Chris Selig with 2:22 remaining.
The Sequoits' Reynolds scampered in on a 9-yard run that cut the lead to 14-7 with 31 seconds left.
However, Lakes added a Selig 7-yard TD at 8:31 and Ethan Gheysen had a 28-yard field goal with 1:35 before the break.
"We did everything we wanted to and our plan was working," Lakes coach Jordan Eder said. "Honestly, we continued to work in the third quarter, but then we had two picks. When you play a good team and you give them opportunities, it will come back and get you. The plan worked throughout but the execution fell on a couple plays. The game was similar to last year."