Gallant JT effort falls short in season finale against Bradley

JOLIET -- Bradley-Bourbonnais High School needed a victory over Joliet Township on Friday to advance into next week's postseason playoffs.

To say that the Boilermakers had to earn a 21-14 victory over the game Steelmen would be an understatement.

JT (0-9, 0-7), which trailed 14-0 only to tie it 14-14 in the fourth quarter, did not give an inch. The gutty Steelmen took Bradley (5-4, 5-2) to the limit in the SouthWest Suburban Conference Blue game at Klootwyk Field.

And the game was not clinched until Bradley gained a first down during the closing minute on a faked punt from its own 24-yard line. Punter Jeff Bracken completed a 13-yard pass to Doug Dornan.

JT tied the game at 14 with 9:27 remaining in the game. Junior defensive back Wesley Powell's second interception, and ensuing 38-yard return, set up a 40-yard touchdown pass from junior quarterback Justin Stephenson to junior wideout Ronald Mitchell.

"We were going to play this one like it was our playoff game," JT senior wide receiver Jonathan Sain said moments after second-year coach Jason Aubry's impassioned speech to the team.

"There was no way that we were going to let Bradley come to our field and walk over us. We played every play like it was the key play in the game."

Mitchell was outstanding. Prior to his game-tying catch, the 5-foot-11, 170-pound speedster grabbed a fourth-and-goal pass from Bradley's 10 and turned it into JT's first score.

Mitchell's score, which was set up when sophomore defensive lineman Joey Riddle recovered a Bradley fumble at the 9, was culminated by a true hustle play which was how JT played all night. At the 2-yard line, Mitchell broke the goal line's plane by reaching over the pylon to complete the touchdown.

Mitchell finished with 9 catches for 123 yards. Stephenson completed 23-of-51 passes for 255 yards.

"Ronald is my cousin and he had a great game," said Sain, who had 5 receptions for 57 yards. "We laid it all on the field and gave it our best effort."

Bradley defensive lineman Devin Dismang picked off a fourth-quarter pass at the JT 45. Seven plays later, quarterback Travis Moliga's keeper produced the tiebreaking score, a 3-yard run with 3:36 left.

Moliga scored the game's initial TD, a 1-yard run on a fourth-and-goal from the 1 with 25.4 seconds left in the first half.

"What I want people to remember about this team is that they never, ever gave up," Aubry said. "They played with pride, fought and never gave up. This team never gave up and continued to play hard throughout the season."

Aubry also had praise for his hard-working seniors.

"Our seniors played with tremen dous pride," he said. "The team at one point, melted into one unit. They should be proud of how they competed."

In the fourth quarter, it appeared that Riddle had a sack, forcing a Moliga fumble. JT defensive lineman Adam Justice picked the ball up and ran for an apparent TD.

However, the play was ruled an incomplete pass.