Plainfield Central drops a heartbreaker

Plainfield Central's Brian Meeks (middle) is stopped by Oswego's John Hugunin in the Wildcats' 27-24 overtime loss Friday night.
larry kane/for the herald news

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PLAINFIELD -- It was a gamble.

And it paid off.

For Oswego, that is.

On 4th-and-5 in the second overtime and trailing Plainfield Central 24-21, the Panthers decided to go for the win rather than kick the tying field goal.

Oswego's Ryan West completed a 5-yard touchdown pass to Sean Danielson to come away with a 27-24 Southwest Prairie Conference win.

"You don't know how it feels unless you've been involved," Plainfield Central coach John Jackson said. "Our guys played like men and left their heart and soul out on the field."

Oswego (6-1, 5-0) controlled much of the game, but the Wildcats (3-4, 3-2) were able to hang in against the Panthers.

Oswego got on the board first when West hit Nathan Linden with a 51-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0.

The Panthers threatened again before West was intercepted by Ryan Carr, which set up a 13-yard TD pass from Zach Warren to Brian Meeks with :30 left in the first half to tie the game.

After a scoreless third quarter, Oswego scored again on a 21-yard pass from West to Joe Kwiatkowski for a 14-7 lead.

Plainfield Central fumbled with 7:30 left, but a sack by Lavelle Howard gave them the ball back with 2:30 to go.

Facing a 4th-and-12, Warren found Ty Mangino for a 14-yard gain and a first down. With 1:36 left on 3rd-and-10, Warren hit Meeks for a 12-yard gain. Finally, on another 3rd-and-10 at the Oswego 11, Warren found Meeks again to bring the ball to the Panther 1. Meeks then scored with 1:08 left to tie the game.

In the first overtime, Oswego scored on fourth down when Adam Brooking went over from the 1.

Plainfield Central answered the first play of their OT possession with a 10-yard run by Alonzo Morgan.

In the second overtime, Central faced 4th-and-12, and settled for a 29-yard field goal by Evan Engelsen to go ahead 24-21 and set the stage for Oswego's final drive.

"We made some mistakes, but our guys never gave up," Jackson said. "They dealt with the adversity and gave a great team effort.

"I don't care what anyone else says. The two best teams in the conference played on this field tonight. They leave undefeated (in the conference) and we leave fighting for our lives to make the playoffs."

Warren went 12-of-28 through the air for 154 yards and a touchdown, while Meeks led the Wildcats' rushing attack with 53 yards on 13 carries.