This war goes to Warren

JOLIET -- The program says Alce Smith is 5 feet 10 inches.

He was every bit of 6-10 on the play he made in overtime Friday night to give Plainfield Central High School a heart-pounding 28-21 Southwest Prairie Conference victory over Plainfield South.

The Wildcats (2-3, 2-1), who had seen their chance to win in regulation go by the boards on senior quarterback Zach Warren's unforced fumble, got the ball first from the 10-yard line in overtime. After two running plays got them to the 5-yard line, Warren made amends.

He lobbed a pass to the back line of the end zone, where South's 6-2 defensive back Anthony Barnes had Smith covered like a blanket. Somehow, Smith leaped into the air and pulled down the touchdown. Evan Engelsen kicked the extra point to make it 28-21.

South (3-2, 1-2) still had its chance to tie or win, and the Cougars went right to work. A Jeff Kohl keeper and Dondre Adams' run up the middle gave them a third down at the 3. But Central junior linebacker Mark Young stuffed Kohl at the 3 on another keeper. On fourth down, Kohl got some pressure as he rolled left, and his pass went high and incomplete, sending the defending conference champion Wildcats into celebration.

After an 0-3 start, they are back in the playoff hunt and, in fact, the Southwest Prairie title chase.

"The 0-3 start, we had no idea how that feels, honestly," standout Central linebacker Ryan Carr said. "We got down to business at practice, worked hard every day. We game planned the right way, and, we were just tired of losing."

As many smiles as there were in the Central camp, none was wider than that worn by Warren.

Not known as much of a passer until this point, all he did was complete 8-of-13 for 113 yards and a career-best 3 touchdowns, including a pair to Smith and one 19-yard beauty to running back Brian Meeks.

"I'm the happiest person in this place," Warren said of making amends for his fumble. "I knew if I got it there (in overtime), 8 (Smith) would get it. He's a great receiver."

Lost in Warren's fumble in the final minute was what he did to put the Wildcats on the doorstep. First he hit Ty Mangino with a 6-yard pass to the South 40 on a third-and-4 play, then he threw a perfect 26-yarder on a wheel route to Meeks to the 14. But on second-and-11, operating from the shotgun, he dropped the ball as he prepared to make a throw. Thor Holmer recovered for South at 21, and with 0:29 remaining, overtime was imminent.

The game was that close all the way through. Central scored on its first possession as Brock Douglas, who rushed for 107 yards in 14 carries, ran over a defender and went 30 yards to pay dirt.

Late in the first quarter, Adams (18 carries, 152 yards) brought South within 7-6 with a 62-yard run, and a few minutes later, he caught a punt on the run, broke through a seam and went 64 yards to another score.

For good measure, he ran the two-point conversion, and the Cougars led 14-7.

Midway through the second quarter, Douglas broke a 38-yard run to put Central deep in South territory, and then on fourth-and-8 from the 19, Warren hit Meeks in the back of the end zone to tie it 14-14 at halftime.

"Zach did not have a good game last week (against Oswego East)," Central coach John Jackson said. "But this week in practice, he was throwing some nice balls. Tonight he was seeing the coverages well. He was throwing the ball where it had to be."

Central chewed up the first 6 1/2 minutes of the third quarter on a 79-yard touchdown drive that gave the Wildcats a 21-14 lead. Douglas picked up a first down with a 3-yard run on fourth-and-2 and Warren hit Mangino on a 16-yard slant that also had a penalty tacked on, moving the ball to the 10. On third down, Smith lobbed a 9-yard TD pass to Smith as a defender slipped.

South drove to the Central 7, but then faced a fourth-and-goal at the 10. Cougars coach Mike Briscoe decided against a field goal attempt, and Central defensive back Kyle Wright broke up a pass intended for South's Darrell Collins to turn the ball over.

"We left 14 points on the field in the second half," Briscoe said. "But, hindsight is 20-20. We missed a PAT, the field was slippery, we went for it and didn't get it. As it turned out, a field goal would have made a difference."

South did mount a 57-yard scoring drive early in the fourth quarter. On a fourth-and-10 play from the Central 41, Kohl escaped a sack by two defenders, then on the pass, interference was called on Central for a first down at the 26. Moments later, Kohl scored on a keeper from the 15, and with the conversion, the Cougars were even 21-21.

In the stretch run, Central was in position to win but for Warren's fumble. Combined with Kohl's escape on the potential fourth-down sack and the Cougars then taking it in to tie, that meant two huge momentum swings pointing South.

Or so it seemed.

"We worked the guys hard in practice," Jackson said. "We emphasized hitting and fundamentals. Our motto is to play hard regardless of what happens, and the kids are starting to buy into that again."

"This was two good programs going at it," Briscoe said. "The kids on both sides played hard. Someone had to come out on the short end of the stick."

South finished with 200 rushing yards -- with Adams doing a bulk of the damage -- to Central's 149. But the Wildcats had an edge in total yards 263-242. Both sides had 12 first downs.

It was that close, that competitive, that much fun.

"Plainfield South, they do an outstanding job with that program," Jackson said. "That Voda kid (275-pound fullback/defensive end Kyle Voda) used to play youth football with my son. He has really grown up. He will be playing somewhere on Saturday afternoon next year."

Voda had his share of big plays. So did Adams, Kohl and others on South side.

But in the end, it Carr and the Central defense, plus Warren's passing, that got it done.