Green Wave knocks over Chargers

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AURORA - Aurora Central Catholic had its finger in the hole in the dam, trying to prevent an onslaught by a talented St. Edward team.

Then came the second quarter. St. Edward scored on its first three possessions, then added a touchdown on its last play from scrimmage of the half. By that time, the Chargers were buried by the Green Wave, which coasted to a 42-14 triumph in a Suburban Christian Conference crossover game.

St. Edward (4-1) continued its march to only its third trip to the postseason ever (1983 and 2003 were the other years). The Green Wave wasn't dominant offensively, but they capitalized on Aurora Central mistakes and struck quickly.

Leading 6-0 after an early 2-yard run by Jordan Torres, St. Edward caught a break after ACC's Kendel Reed caught a Stewart deWaard pass deep in Green Wave territory. But the wet ball slipped out of Reed's hands, and Nathan Gaige recovered the loose ball at the Chargers 5.

On the 13th play of the ensuing drive and the first play of the second period, St. Edward executed the play of the game. Wide receiver Sam Pozezinski took the pitch on a reverse play and looked to pass. He found Jon Godfrey wide open beyond the Chargers secondary for a 40-yard score.

"I think if I had kept running the ball, I would have scored, but I was glad I got the pass off," said Pozezinski.

When the Chargers (1-4) got the ball back, Alex Schaefer fumbled on the first play from scrimmage. The Green Wave wasted no time capitalizing. Junior quarterback Ben Lehman (8-of-19 passing with one interception, 158 yards) found Zack Von Ahnen open, again behind the ACC secondary, for a 34-yard scoring strike to widen the St Edward lead to 18-0, just 23 seconds after the previous score.

"I think we learned our lesson last year that we have to be able to both run and pass if we want to do well in the postseason," said St. Edward coach Mike Rolando, who now has a strong-armed Lehman to complement what has been a solid running game. "If teams load up on our running game, we can adapt and strike with the pass."

Aurora Central got on the board with 8:02 left in the first half when deWaard found Kent Brauweiler over the middle from 10 yards out. But the Green Wave had an immediate answer.

On the kickoff, Nick Scholly broke through the Chargers containment and bolted 77 yards for a touchdown to make it 24-6.

Three plays, three touchdowns for the Green Wave, who coasted from that point. Lehman made it a 24-point quarter for the Green Wave when he connected with David Hoebbel for a 28-yard touchdown down the right sideline just before halftime.

"It was good to strike first after a loss last week," said Lehman, whose team responded well after a loss to Chicago Christian.

St. Edward followed a similar theme in the second half. Torres (eight rushes for 46 yards) scored on a 12-yard run on the first play of the fourth quarter. Then, following a third Chargers fumble, Scholly took a pitch and ran 37 yards for a score on the next play.

Schaefer scored with 6:19 left in the game on a 25-yard run, followed by a 2-point conversion run by Andrew Schmied. The conversion was notable because it was the first points after touchdown all evening.

Schaefer was the lone bright spot offensively for the Chargers, rushing 14 times for 87 yards, though he lost two fumbles. Tyler Scott, John Belovich, and Andrew Scott played well on defense for Aurora Central.

"We're not a good enough team to commit turnovers and get away with it," said ACC coach Mike Curry, whose team takes on archrival Marmion next week. "If we keep control of the ball, we can be competitive, but the minute we (give the ball away), it starts to steamroll on us. St. Edward has an offensive machine -- my hat's off to them."