St. Pat's wins a thriller over Notre Dame

St. Patrick's Patrick Whalen falls into the end zone backwards and puts the Shamrocks ahead 7-0 against Notre Dame.
(Scott Powers/For the Sun-Times News Group)

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St. Patrick coach Dan Galante isn’t sure how much of this he can take.

For the third time this season, the Shamrocks nearly gave their coach a heart attack as they waited until the second half to pull off another comeback. He’ll be willing to forgive them for this one.

The Shamrocks knocked off rival Notre Dame for the first time in three years when quarterback Dan DiCanio ran the ball around the left corner for a 10-yard score in overtime in Niles. That was good for a 20-14 East Suburban Catholic victory.

‘‘I don’t think I’m going to make it to 50 if they continue to do this,’’ Galante said. ‘‘This week was one overtime. Next week it’ll be two overtimes at this rate.’’

Said DiCanio: ‘‘It’s all about heart. We have heart.’’

St. Patrick’s students rushed Notre Dame’s field after the win and celebrated at one end of the field. The Dons (3-1, 1-1) waited until all the fans left the field to shake hands with St. Patrick (4-0, 1-0).

Notre Dame had the first opportunity to score in overtime. The Dons had a first down on the 5-yard line after a St. Patrick pass-interference call. Notre Dame ran on back-to-back running plays and gained a total of one yard. The Shamrocks then stopped two consecutive passing plays.

Notre Dame’s Pat Lazzara had a 43-yard punt return to put the Dons ahead 14-7 in the third quarter.

St. Patrick responded when DiCanio hit Adam Nitsche with a 21-yard touchdown pass to tie the game with 1:46 left in the fourth quarter.