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Fenton's two-point conversion beats Leyden
Leyden's Bryan Rideau (37) carries the ball against Fenton in Northlake on Aug. 26, 2011. | Rob Hart~Sun-Times Media
Updated: August 27, 2011 1:43AM
Fenton pulled out a thriller, winning 30-29 on an unlikely play.
The Bison drove 80 yards in 10 plays, pulling within 29-28 on a three-yard touchdown pass from Sean Havlovic to Frank DiLauro, scoring what turned out to be the winning points when Havlovic’s two-point conversion pass was batted up in the air by a Leyden defender. Havlovic managed to catch the ball and get into the end zone for the winning points with 5:16 left in the game.
“I’m not very fast, but I ran as hard as I could to get to the ball, and once I caught it, I knew I was in,” Havlovic said. “We knew we were never out of it because the score was still close, even with all of the problems we had.”
Alan Geneva caught 12 of Havlovic’s 19 completed passes in 35 attempts and accounted for 258 of Fenton’s 293 receiving yards.
“The Geneva kid single-handedly beat us,” Leyden coach Tom Cerasani said. “We made a lot of mistakes, but their quarterback did a nice job, and Geneva made some big plays with him.”
Due mainly to Havlovic having problems receiving poor snaps from center in the Bison's shotgun formation early in the game, Fenton didn’t get its offense going at all in the first quarter.
The Bison took an 8-0 lead on their first offensive possession of the second quarter when Havlovic connected with Geneva for a 36-yard touchdown pass with 8:15 remaining in the first half. Fenton added a two-point conversion on a pass from Havlovic to Joe Butz.
Leyden pulled within 8-6 on its ensuing possession. After junior tailback Mickey Gulo returned the Fenton kickoff 37 yards to the Bison 45, the Eagles used three plays and two Fenton penalties to set up a 1-yard touchdown run by quarterback Joey DiFranzo with 6:47 left in the half. The PAT kick attempt was no good.
Fenton extended its lead to 14-6 on its next play from scrimmage when Havlovic found Geneva open again, this time for an 80-yard TD. The two-point conversion attempt failed.
The Eagles managed to forge a 14-14 halftime tie by driving 74 yards in 11 plays and scoring on an 11-yard TD pass from DiFronzo to Javier Rhoades and a two-point conversion toss from DiFronzo to Andrew Garcia with :22 left in the half.
Leyden took its first lead, 20-14, with 7:12 left in the third quarter on a 3-yard TD run by Gulo that capped a nine-play, 38-yard drive.
A fourth-down snap on Fenton’s next possession went over Havlovic’s head and out of the end zone for a safety, giving the Eagles a 22-14 lead with 5:24 remaining in the third quarter.
Leyden then extended its advantage to 29-14 with a nine-play, 45-yard drive, capped by a 1-yard score by DiFronzo and a PAT kick by Chris Von Schweddler with 2:06 left in the period.
An 11-yard TD on a shovel pass from Havlovic to Geneva on the first play of the fourth quarter, along with a two-point conversion pass from Havlovic to Butz, pulled Fenton back to within 29-22.
Gulo returned the ensuing kickoff 79 yards to the Fenton 3-yard line, but a Leyden penalty instead gave the Eagles the ball at the Bison’s 25. Leyden’s attempt to add to its lead ended on a 27-yard missed field goal by Von Schweddler.
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