Isolated on an island at cornerback, and staring straight into the facemask of 6-foot-2, 215-pound fullback Jim Benson being split wide, Wilmington senior Justin Gruca transformed into Just(in) Time Gruca.
Right after Reed-Custer blocked a 27-yard field goal, with senior defensive back/wingback/wideout Steven Davis doing the honors, the Comets connected on a pair of 5-yard passes from senior quarterback Derek Albin to Davis.
Along with a 7-yard run by senior tailback Garrett Sandefur, RC appeared ready to carbonate a fourth-quarter rally from a 20-7 deficit. On third-and-5 in shotgun trips left, Albin looked to Benson alone with the 5-8, 170-pound Justin Gruca on the right.
Thus, Just(in) Time.
"I was reading him and he ran a slant," Gruca recalled. "He's a big boy, so I was surprised he was out there at wide receiver. I looked at the quarterback, I had a good feel for where he was throwing the ball and I got a good jump on it.
"I got in-between him and the ball, picked it off, and it was cool getting that pick. It was huge for momentum, and I just had to play the game how it's supposed to be played."
To paraphrase Walter Cronkite, what a game it was Friday night in Wilmington. Riding the wave of Gruca's interception, the host Wildcats scored 13 unanswered points to clinch a 33-7 Class 3A first-round playoff victory.
While the star-studded unit of offensive coordinator Barry Southall has garnered a huge chunk of the headlines this year for Wilmington (10-0), the Wildcats ousted Interstate Eight Conference rival Reed-Custer (6-4) because of a bear-down defense.
The sign on the press box at Howard Becker Field warns "Beware of what comes out of the woods," referring to Wilmington's pregame warmups. On this muddy-yet-nicer night, the Wildcat defense heated up after walking out of those woods.
First, junior outside linebacker Jeremy Bailey stripped the ball on the Comets' second play from scrimmage and rumbled 53 yards with the fumble return for a touchdown. Then, Gruca's interception gave Wilmington another ton of confidence.
"I think that was a big point in the game," Wildcats coach Jeff Reents said. "Gruca was sitting out there all by himself, they ran an isolation route,
he jumped on that slant and, boy, came up with the big play. Defensively, our kids made the big plays."
"We were starting to get down a little bit and (Gruca) gave us all the momentum in the world," Bailey said. "That got us excited, helped us out, but give Reed-Custer credit. I don't think we played our best, but I don't want to take anything away from them. They played well."
It was like Reed-Custer drank from a different well of water than the last time. The Comets, 45-14 victims of Wilmington back in Week 3, sliced a 20-0 halftime lead to 20-7 with 3:46 left in the third quarter on Albin's 12-yard angelic lob to Sandefur.
What the Wildcats did, though, was score off turnovers or after a strong defensive surge like a sack or interception. The Comets countered with Brandon Cunning's strip, Jake Jedrych's sack and forced fumble and fumble recoveries by both Ryan Garbin and Ivan Martinez.
Opportunities existed.
"Give Braidwood credit," Reents said. "I'm not a big fan of playing anybody twice, and this is why. You throw in the mud, four inches of rain and everything else, and we played opportunistic football. Gruca, Bailey and 'Z-Mac' did a great job."
Let's begin with Bailey's Starburst. He ripped the ball from the hard-charging Benson, who gained the first down and was trying to churn out an extra yard. It was clearer skating than Jeremy Roenick to the end zone for JB.
"I was out covering a guy and all of a sudden, I see Jeremy taking off down the sideline," Gruca said. "He did a great job to get the strip, and it was awesome when he scored."
"Usually, there's not too many people ahead of you when you strip the ball because they're all lead-blocking for the guy," said Bailey, who notched his 19th touchdown with a 1-yard slice in the fourth. "I knew all I needed was to beat out the quarterback."
On special teams, senior linebacker Zach McWilliams beat the street in recovering a pair of muffed kickoffs. He also gained 30 yards on a pair of fullback screens. Put them together and he finished with a full house.
"I just stayed in my lane, watched the ball and got lucky a couple of times on the kicks," McWilliams said. "The O-line did a great job of setting up the screens and I had some good blocks. Our defense did a great job and we were able to set up our offense."
No offense to Wilmington, a definitive contender in 3A, but the Comets deserved a better fate. Benson and Davis should be heavily recruited (hello, University of St. Francis or Saint Xavier?) because they are playmakers. Gruca, however, became the 'Cats' gamebreaker.
Just in time, indeed.
"Reed-Custer came at us with everything they had and they're a good ballclub," McWilliams said. "But we came out with the win, and Justin's pick was a huge -- a big momentum swing. It helped us get everything going again on offense."
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