Heart-stopping 2015 semifinal win for Libertyville
With a mighty thrust on what could have been the final play of his stellar high school football career, Riley Lees extended his arm and, as a result, Libertyville's season.
"He's a special player," linebacker Riley Buncic said amid a white sea of madness on Bradley-Bourbonnais' snow-covered field, after Lees' lunge broke the end-zone plane from 1-yard out on the final play of the game to give Libertyville a heart-stopping, 22-17 win in a 2015 Class 7A state semifinal.
""When we need someone to step up, he's the man. He never shows any signs of giving up."
All was right for Libertyville, which wore its all-white uniforms (white numerals, too) on a gray afternoon that featured horizontal snow due to whipping winds. Lees overcame what he called "one of my worst performances" (2 interceptions, 2 lost fumbles) by scoring undoubtedly the biggest touchdown of his life on a make-or-break quarterback sneak as time expired.
The win lifted No. 3 Libertyville into its first state championship game since 2004. The Wildcats went on to lose to top-seeded Glenbard West 34-28 in the state title game.
No. 23 Bradley-Bourbonnais finished 9-4 in what was its longest playoff run in school history.
"We haven't been trailing all season, and we found a way to win today," Libertyville wide receiver Tim Calamari said. "We're going (to state). It feels exciting."
Trailing 17-16, Libertyville took over at its own 40. Lees completed passes to Calamari (12 yards), Henry Schmidt (15 yards), Cam Shaffer (21 yards) and Calamari again (8 yards) to get the ball to the 3. With Libertyville out of timeouts, Lees gained 2 yards and then none on a sneak, and then hustled his team to the line of scrimmage for one final shot with the final seconds ticking off.
"We usually use code words," junior offensive tackle Tyler Jost said. "Riley just said, '26 Power, 26 Power,' one on one. We just went for it. I got a pancake (block) on the last play. It felt awesome. I looked back and saw Riley in the end zone. We were just waiting for the (touchdown) signal, and we got it."
Barely. The home crowd went ballistic, as Libertyville's players stormed the field.
"I just jumped over (the defense)," Lees said. "I didn't know where the goal line was. I just stuck the ball out."
Lees finished with 227 yards rushing on 29 carries, and his 3 TDs gave him 33 for the season. The 2 interceptions were only the fifth and sixth thrown all season by the Northwestern commit.
"We stuck together as a team," Lees said. "It's not an individual sport. The defense picked us up all game. I was struggling all night."
Not at the end.