St. Charles East edges Warriors in OT

AURORA – They might not have been singing in the rain when it was all over on Friday night but the St. Charles East players certainly were screaming for joy after a dramatic 21-14 come-from-behind overtime victory over host Waubonsie Valley in Upstate Eight Conference play.

The Saints (4-2, 4-0) overcame a 14-3, fourth-quarter deficit to scratch out the rain-soaked win to remain undefeated in the UEC along with Lake Park.

"I told the boys going into this game that three things were going to win this game: turnovers, field position and heart," East coach Mark Fields said. "We may not (have won the first 2) but we won it with heart."

On the second play from scrimmage in overtime, quarterback Nolan Possley completed his only pass of the contest to tight end Jess Stiedl for a 10-yard touchdown strike to give the Saints their first lead of the game at 21-14.

"We tried that tight end dump to Jess three times and we just couldn't hit it," Fields said. "Nolan, he's such a competitor, kept saying, 'Coach, I can get it. One more time.' And we finally got it."

St. Charles East's defense then sealed the victory by shutting down the Warriors (3-3, 2-2) at the 4-yard line. The Saints defense allowed just 166 yards in the game.

"I felt so confident in our defense (in overtime)," Fields said.

East accumulated 296 of its 306 total yards on the ground and racked up 18 first downs along the way.

Many Saints took their turn as hero in the spirited rally.

Possley (149 rushing yards on 22 carries) got the comeback rolling with a 42-yard TD run up the gut of the Warriors' defense with 9:07 left in regulation to cut the Waubonsie lead to 14-9. The ensuing two-point conversion run by Zachary Zajicek (19 carries, 56 yards) brought East to within three.

"We were confident," Possley said. "We knew 14-3, we're just going to keep pounding it and (the line) is going to open up holes. Those holes were big enough to drive a truck through. It's all the line. All I had to do was run."

After Bryce Barry picked off Waubonsie quarterback Kenny Clay at the Saints' 41-yard line, East drove to the 16-yard line where it turned to kicker Dan Keller.

Keller had previously knocked home a wobbly 32-yard field goal in the first half, but with the pressure clearly mounting and the wind picking up, his 34-yard attempt with 2:31 remaining was more difficult. Falling down as he kicked it, Keller booted a line drive through the uprights to tie the game at 14 to set up overtime.

"I knew I hit straight but I had no idea (it went in because) I was on the ground," Keller said. "Nolan (the holder) just told me it went in."

Added Fields: "That's tough for a kicker, as you guys know. Standing there all night freezing in this weather and to go out there and take care of business right there like that for his team."

St. Charles East fell behind 14-3 after the Warriors capitalized on a Saints' turnover for the second time of the game.

Late in the third quarter, East – led by fullback Andrew Gomez (14 carries, 73 yards) – made its way down to Waubonsie's 12-yard line trailing 7-3. However, on a second-down play, Gomez fumbled the ball away to the Warriors' Devon Morgan.

Reeling from the turnover, East surrendered a 30-yard Clay run on the next play and eventually a 2-yard TD run by Maurice Bowman to make it 14-3.

East's turnover woes started on its opening possession of the night, when Zajicek fumbled on the Saints' 17-yard line. Waubonsie took advantage of the short field to go up 7-0.

Keller's first field goal came with 1:24 left in the first half, making it 7-3.

Matthew Payne snared an interception in the third quarter.

ST. CHARLES EAST 21, WAUBONSIE VALLEY 14 (OT)

St. Charles East            0     3     0    11    7    --  21

Waubonsie Valley         7     0     0     7     0    --  14

WV – Bowman 7 run (Kuehn kick), 8:52

SCE – FG Keller 32, 1:24

WV – Bowman 2 run (Kuehn kick), 11:12

SCE – Possley 42 run (Zajicek run), 9:07

SCE – FG Keller 34, 2:31

SCE – Stiedl 10 pass from Possley (Keller kick)

Team statistics                  SCE               WV

First downs                           18                    9

Comp.-att-int.                     1-7-0            7-14-2

Passing yards                        10                   60

Rushing-att-yds.                 57-296           34-106

Total yards                           306                 166

Fumbles-lost                         1-0                 5-2

Penalties-yards                     3-15               6-42

Individual statistics

Rushing:

ST. CHARLES EAST — Possley 22-149, Gomez 14-73, Zajicek 19-56, Nutting 2-18.

WAUBONSIE — Clay 15-53, Bowman 13-46, Clark 6-7.

Passing:

ST. CHARLES EAST — Possley 1-5-0 10, Fisher 0-2-0 0.

WAUBONSIE — Clay 7-14-2 60.

Receiving:

ST. CHARLES EAST — Stiedl 1-10.

WAUBONSIE – Buckner 3-12, Kuehn 2-25, Szott 1-26, Bowman 1-(minus 3).