Sandburg escapes Andrew in 3 OT

Andrew fans cheer on the Thunderbolts as they take on Sandburg.
(Brett Roseman/SouthtownStar)

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Many a crazy thing happened during Sandburg's 33-27 victory over visiting Andrew Friday night.

But it was one hard-nosed run in triple-overtime that ended it.

First, senior John Gruchot made one huge play for Sandburg by knocking the ball out of the hands of Andrew's Sean Jacques as he appeared ready to run into the end zone for a touchdown.

Then, senior Tony Stramaglia plowed 10 yards on Sandburg's first play, giving the Eagles the victory that moved them to 3-1 on the season.

"Give 100 percent credit to the o-line," Stramaglia said. "They're the ones who scored it for me. I wasn't going down. I wanted to score real bad."

Andrew dropped to 2-2.

Andrew opened the scoring with 8:03 remaining in the first period without even touching the football.

On fourth-and-10 from his own 30, Eagles punter Ryan Strauss leaped but could not flag down a wild snap from center. With two Andrew defenders in hot pursuit, Strauss chased the ball down into the end zone and kicked it out of play for a safety.

Up 2-0 and receiving the ball via a free kick, Andrew had a good chance to seize the momentum from the Sandburg 39. Eagles defensive back Shane Meyer, however, intercepted a pass by Andrew quarterback Alex Hepp.

It took a couple of possessions, but the Eagles eventually gained the advantage in field position, and after having a drive stall at the Andrew 14, Ryan Salerno kicked a 33-yard field goal to make it 3-2 with 1:30 showing in the first quarter.

After a quick three-and-out by Andrew, Sandburg went on a drive that took up the first seven minutes of the second period.

It was nothing fancy, just pound-it-out rushes by Brent Kondziolka and Kevin Thompson, and one short pass from Hansen to Stramaglia.

The drive resulted in five first downs, and a first-and-goal from the Andrew 7. Then, disaster struck for the Eagles.

Rolling right, Hansen tried to pitch the ball to Thompson. Instead it found the ground. In full stride, defensive back Blaise Bernardi picked it up for Andrew at the 10, and raced untouched all the way for a touchdown.

After Hepp threw to Kyle Anderson for the two-point conversion to make it 10-3, Sandburg got the ball back and again went straight down the field.

This time Hansen used a pair of 13-yard passes to John Gruchot, Kodziolka ran once for 17, and the Eagles benefitted from a pass interference penalty against the Thunderbolts.

The drive, however, stalled at the Andrew 8, and Salerno was wide right on a 26-yard field goal try.

Sandburg finally broke through with a 51-yard drive that covered 12 plays and took the clock into the fourth period. A key moment was a fourth-down 11-yard pass from Hansen to Gruchot. Thompson finished it off with a 4-yard run, and Salerno kicked the PAT to tie it at 10-10.

Andrew, having done nothing all night offensively, suddenly sprang to life. The Thunderbolts marched 86 yards in 10 plays before Hepp snuck in from the 1. Tom Serratore's PAT kick made it 17-10 Andrew with 6:49 left in regulation.

What figured to be Sandburg's last drive took a bizarre turn on second and 10 from the Andrew 22. Hansen threw left toward the end zone for a receiver, but there was nobody there but two T-Bolt defenders.

However, a lineman about 15 yards upfield lunged for the ball. He tipped it, deflecting to the right where Eagles receiver Matt Farrell made the catch at the 1 and sprawled into the end zone. Salerno's kicked created a 17-17 tie.

The first overtime produced an 8-yard TD pass from Hepp to Kyle Anderson for Andrew, a 5-yard TD run by Thompson, and two PAT kicks.

The second overtime saw both defenses step up, but Salerno was good from 21 yards for Sandburg, and Serratore from 33 yards for Andrew as both teams managed field goals.