Waubonsie runs out of steam in overtime

Fourth-quarter lead dissolves against St. Charles East

There's nothing like a gut check on fourth-and-goal from the 2-yard line and the game in the balance. On Friday night, Waubonsie Valley lost such a challenge when Tre Clark was strung out along the line of scrimmage and eventually denied by St. Charles East defenders Jess Striedl and Bryce Barry at the 1-yard-line.

Clark took Kenny Clay's option pitch with little room to work and could not find a lane to get into the end zone and tie the game, giving the Saints a 21-14 overtime victory in Aurora.

The Waubonsie coaches wanted to know how their team would react to a lopsided loss to rival Neuqua Valley last week, challenging them to play within themselves and keep their heads in a big game. The team had done that after a Week 1 loss to Naperville Central, culminating in a big win against St. Charles North two weeks ago. But in their rivalry game last week, Warriors coach Paul Murphy said his team succumbed to the emotion of the contest.

Waubonsie (3-3, 1-2 UEC), which likely fell out of the UEC title chase, did answer the challenge and played well -- it simply made one mistake too many on offense, and a strong defense ran out of gas.

The defense kept St. Charles East (4-2, 4-0) out of the end zone for the first three quarters despite being on the field for the majority of the contest. And the Warriors came up with key turnovers, recovering an Andrew Gomez (70 yards) fumble at their own 11 after the Saints had chewed up 62 yards and six minutes.

That quick change allowed the offense to click for the first -- and only -- time all night, as Clay (54 rushing yards, 60 passing yards, two interceptions) busted a 30-yard run on Waubonsie's first play. That run started a 12-play, 89-yard, five-minute drive that was capped by a 2-yard run to pay dirt by Maurice Bowman (46 yards, two touchdowns).

It gave Waubonsie a 14-3 advantage with just 11 minutes to play in the game, but the Saints scored on a tired Warriors defense just five plays and two minutes later on a 42-yard run by quarterback Nolan Possley (157 rushing yards).

Then it was the Saints' turn to capitalize on a turnover, as Clay's second interception, with 7:20 to go, resulted in a 33-yard field goal by Daniel Keller that tied it at 14.

In overtime, Possley completed the first Saints pass of the game with a 10-yard scoring strike to Striedl to take a 21-14 lead. The Warriors then could not get in on four running plays.

In the first half, the Warriors were aided by the elements as the Saints kept the ball on the ground, limiting their options. Despite running for 120 yards, the Saints could manage only a 32-yard field goal by Keller.

The Warriors seemed timid on offense and were held to just 62 yards in the first two quarters, yet they led 7-3 thanks to an early Saints fumble.

Saints running back Zachary Zajicek (51 yards) was swarmed in the backfield and coughed up the ball at the Saints' 17. Three plays later, Bowman scored from the 7 to make it 7-0.