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52 | October 18, 2018 | The New Lenox Patriot SPORTS<br />
newlenoxpatriot.com<br />
Football<br />
‘Program win’: Knights dash Eagles’ playoff hopes<br />
TIM YONKE, Freelance Reporter<br />
A yard marker wasn’t as<br />
needed as much as a ruler in<br />
the game between Lincoln-<br />
Way Central and host Carl<br />
Sandburg on Friday, Oct. 12.<br />
Although football isn’t<br />
often considered a game of<br />
inches, it was on this particular<br />
night. And it was a<br />
couple of close fourth down<br />
plays that helped Central<br />
seal a 14-11 SouthWest Suburban<br />
Conference victory in<br />
Orland Park.<br />
“Inches matter. Converting<br />
that fourth down at the<br />
end was real huge,” Central<br />
coach Jeremy Cordell.<br />
The Knights moved to<br />
6-2 on the year in advance<br />
of their season finale against<br />
Thornton. Meanwhile, Sandburg’s<br />
hopes for a state playoff<br />
berth ended as the Eagles<br />
fell to 3-5 with the loss.<br />
The game could be boiled<br />
down to three fourth-down<br />
plays that occurred in the<br />
second half.<br />
The first was the gamewinning<br />
score. On fourthand-one<br />
on their own 40, the<br />
Knights’ Justin Ellis caught<br />
a pitch on the right side,<br />
read his blocks perfectly and<br />
raced the rest of the way to<br />
the end zone, erasing Sandburg’s<br />
11-8 halftime lead.<br />
“I knew we needed one<br />
yard and I was just going to<br />
hit it as fast as I could,” Ellis<br />
said. “Joey Rotondi had that<br />
awesome kickout block on<br />
Box Score<br />
the corner and the next thing<br />
I know I’m flying down the<br />
sideline.”<br />
In the tense moments of<br />
the final quarter, Central’s<br />
defense stopped Eagles quarterback<br />
Ben Starcevich on<br />
a fourth down sneak play.<br />
Then, with just 2:25 to play,<br />
the Knights just barely converted<br />
a short fourth down<br />
run that allowed them to run<br />
the clock down to 33 seconds<br />
and seal Sandburg’s fate.<br />
“They were probably half<br />
a football length past on that<br />
one fourth down and we were<br />
half a football length short<br />
on the other,” said Sandburg<br />
Coach Scott Peters.<br />
The first half, particularly<br />
the second quarter, may have<br />
been the Eagles’ best of the<br />
season.<br />
Central opened the scoring<br />
with 55-yard, 11-play touchdown<br />
drive capped by a nifty<br />
12-yard dash by Frank Luce.<br />
It looked like the Knights<br />
were going to fail on the<br />
1 2 3 4 F<br />
L-W Central 0 8 6 0 14<br />
Sandburg 0 11 0 0 11<br />
3 stars:<br />
1. Justin Ellis (LWC) RB<br />
158 rushing yards, 1 TD, 2 pt. conversion<br />
2. Brian Maday (SAN) K<br />
40-yd field goal<br />
3. Ian Troester (LWC) DB<br />
1 interception<br />
two-point conversion before<br />
Ellis, who appeared trapped<br />
on the sideline, reversed his<br />
field and miraculously ran it<br />
in for an 8-0 advantage.<br />
Sandburg came right back<br />
with an impressive 16-play,<br />
74-yard drive that burned<br />
up nearly 10 minutes of<br />
the clock. Starcevich found<br />
wide receiver Mike Bosco<br />
with a 9-yard TD pass and<br />
then hit Rick Maziarka for<br />
the two-point conversion.<br />
Then in a matter of less<br />
than 30 seconds, the Eagles<br />
forced Central to punt.<br />
Sandburg quickly mounted<br />
a short drive to within field<br />
goal range where Brian Maday<br />
converted a 40-yard kick<br />
just before the halftime horn.<br />
“It was a good way to end<br />
the first half,” noted Peters.<br />
“We had the momentum<br />
going into halftime and the<br />
kids were feeling good. We<br />
gave up one big play in the<br />
second half and couldn’t get<br />
anything going offensively<br />
Lincoln-Way Central’s Justin Ellis is off to the races on a 60-yard touchdown run on a<br />
fourth-and-one play in the third quarter in what turned out to be the winning score in a 14-<br />
11 victory over Sandburg on Friday, Oct. 12. Jeff Vorva/22nd Century Media<br />
and that was the difference.”<br />
Sandburg had a golden opportunity<br />
to score midway<br />
through the third quarter. It<br />
came after a bad snap on a<br />
Central punt attempt as the<br />
Knights lost 34 yards as the<br />
ball sailed over the punter’s<br />
head. It set up the Eagles just<br />
13 yards from paydirt.<br />
On the ensuing play, however,<br />
Starcevich’s pass in the<br />
flat was picked off by Central<br />
defensive back Ian Troester.<br />
“When you get a break<br />
you have to take advantage<br />
of it and we didn’t,” Peters<br />
remarked.<br />
It would be the last time<br />
Sandburg would be in<br />
Knights’ territory.<br />
“It was a gritty football<br />
game on a gritty type of<br />
night,” said Cordell, of the<br />
cold, wet weather conditions.<br />
“We found ways to<br />
get the job done, to get some<br />
first downs when we needed<br />
them. The defense came up<br />
big in the second half with<br />
some turnovers. We just kind<br />
of grinded it out.”<br />
The main “grinder” for the<br />
Knights was Ellis, who finished<br />
with 158 yards rushing<br />
on 29 carries.<br />
“Justin put us on his back.<br />
He did a great job,” Cordell<br />
said. “He was banged up in<br />
the third and fourth quarter.<br />
Taped up and came back out<br />
and just played well. He carried<br />
the load. He’s got a huge<br />
heart.”<br />
Ellis was quick to acknowledge<br />
his teammates.<br />
“Our defense made some<br />
phenomenal adjustments<br />
and got stops when we needed<br />
them. It was a program<br />
win. That’s what makes<br />
coach happy,” he said.<br />
“It was a tough loss. It was<br />
Senior Night and our seniors<br />
took it hard,” Peters said.<br />
“But I told them after the<br />
game I was proud of their<br />
effort and the way they competed.”<br />
FOOTBALL<br />
From Page 55<br />
to the Montini 38 on the next<br />
possession, Olson picked off<br />
a pass by junior quarterback<br />
Ryan Manikowski (6-of-15,<br />
1 INT, 77 yards, 5 carries-11<br />
yards).<br />
Still it looked like it might<br />
remain a 10-point game at<br />
halftime. But the Broncos<br />
other quarterback, sophomore<br />
Robert Brazziel, threw<br />
up a Hail Mary pass to the<br />
right corner of the end zone<br />
where senior Matt Ross<br />
came down with it for a 38-<br />
yard TD as time expired.<br />
Senior Scott West’s extra<br />
point kick made it 20-0 at<br />
halftime.<br />
“That’s huge,” Coglianese<br />
said of the half ending<br />
play. “We were down<br />
10 at that point and getting<br />
the ball in the second half...<br />
Then one of those Hail<br />
Marys. Our prayer wasn’t<br />
answered. They had a really<br />
tall receiver out there. I<br />
couldn’t tell what happened,<br />
but we got out-jumped or<br />
out-positioned.”<br />
The Broncos made one<br />
more big play as Fedanzo<br />
found daylight around the<br />
right side and raced in for<br />
a 48-yard touchdown with<br />
5:26 to play in the third<br />
quarter. Providence reached<br />
the Bronco 16 yard line early<br />
in the fourth quarter, but<br />
once again couldn’t punch it<br />
in for points.<br />
The Celtics will end the<br />
regular season by traveling<br />
to Loyola Academy on<br />
Saturday, Oct. 20 for a final<br />
CCL Blue matchup.<br />
“We have to go up to<br />
Loyola and I know everyone<br />
says they’re down a little<br />
bit,” Coglianese said of the<br />
Ramblers, who improved<br />
to 5-3 and 1-2 in the league<br />
with a victory over host St.<br />
Rita last Saturday. “Maybe<br />
they are, but they’re still<br />
Loyola, They’ll be wellcoached.<br />
It’s going to be a<br />
Saturday game, so we’re going<br />
to have our hands full.<br />
We’d like to play well and<br />
get a win heading into the<br />
playoffs.”
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