PLAINFIELD -- Perhaps it had something to do with the holiday.
It was Halloween, after all.
One of the best football seasons in Plainfield Central High School history ended Friday night when the Wildcats shot themselves in the foot just often enough to come up short.
Belleville East hardly noticed the 232-mile drive back to the St. Louis area after the Lancers traveled to Plainfield and handed the Wildcats a 17-15 setback in the opening round of the Class 8A state playoffs.
Plainfield (8-2) was the No. 4 seed in the lower bracket of 8A, Belleville (7-3) the No. 13 seed. And early on, it appeared the better seed would have things its own way.
But then things started going the other way, and the Wildcats trailed virtually all night. At that, when junior place-kicker Evan Engelsen trotted onto the field to attempt a 39-yard field goal in the final minute, you had the feeling Plainfield would pull this one out.
But Engelsen, who easily was good from 45 yards out in the pregame, happened to kick this one low, and the Lancers ran out the clock to preserve their hard-fought victory.
"When you get in the red zone you have to score," said Wilcats senior offensive tackle Steve Bosilovatz, a three-year starter. "When we got there, we didn't score. That's what killed us."
Plainfield, champion of the Southwest Prairie Conference, had a golden opportunity early on to seize momentum. The Wildcats forced a Belleville punt and drove from their 35 to a second-and-4 at the Belleville 13 in five crisp running plays as Bosilovatz and his linemates -- tackle Mike Hamby, guards Matt Schmecke and Mike Ream and center Chuck Segerberg -- took it to Belleville's large defensive front.
But on the next play, Alonzo Morgan reached the 7 but lost the ball as he was tackled. The Lancers recovered and embarked on a 16-play, 85-yard drive that took 6 minutes 50 seconds off the clock. It ended with Nick Kaltenbrohn's 25-yard field goal for a 3-0 Belleville lead late in the first quarter.
"Turnovers hurt us a lot," said Plainfield junior running back Brian Meeks, who led all rushers with 128 yards in 18 carries. "After we got behind with turnovers, we couldn't quite bounce back.
"But I'm proud of my team and proud of my line. I'm really going to miss the seniors."
Meeks, Morgan and Matt Lancor all ripped off good runs in the next Plainfield possession as the Wildcats drove to a fourth-and-9 at the Belleville 9. Plainfield coach John Jackson elected to go for the first down on fourth-and-3 at the 9, and Morgan was stopped less than a yard short. On the next play, Belleville speedster Darnell Stevenson swept right end, turned the corner and went 93 yards for a touchdown to make it 10-0 Lancers.
"They came out and hit us in the mouth," Meeks said. "They're a good team. They played hard."
The Halloween tricks began to swing Plainfield's way, however, a few minutes later as linebacker Anthony Bjorklund scooped up a Belleville fumble and went 28 yards for a touchdown. "When you see the end zone on one like that, there is nothing better in the world," Bjorklund said.
The extra point failed, however, so Plainfield trailed 10-6 with 7:31 left in the second quarter.
On the Wildcats' next possession after defensive end Rick Gazarek's huge sack forced a punt, quarterback Alex Parks was hit from behind after a fake and fumbled, with Belleville recovering. Five plays later, the Lancers scored on Jamon Bester's 4-yard run to make it 17-6 with 1:31 left before half.
"We did not make any breaks for ourselves," Jackson said. "Belleville East made fewer mistakes, and the team that makes fewer mistakes usually wins a game like this.
"They didn't surprise us. They are who we thought they would be, except maybe they were even bigger than we thought. We just didn't execute at certain times, and that cost us."
The Wildcats did drive from their 38 to a fourth-and-5 from the Belleville 9 as the first-half clock wound down, and Engelsen drilled a 27-yard field goal to make it 17-9 at halftime.
Both teams made defensive adjustments after a first half where the two offenses combined for 372 rushing yards. The Wildcats' defensive front was up against an offensive line that averaged 271 pounds, led by 6-7, 316-pound Jake Campbell, and it took awhile to adjust.
Plainfield faced a fourth-and-4 at the Belleville 31 early in the third quarter, and Parks was sacked. The Wildcats were at the Lancers' 46 with a second-and-3 and Brock Douglas lost a fumble.
But two plays later, Plainfield linebacker Keith Marry recovered a fumble. Meeks went 41 yards to set up a first-and-goal at the 7, and on third down, Morgan scored from the 2 to make it 17-15 with 3:07 left in the third quarter. The Wildcats tried for a 2-point conversion, but Morgan was stopped a yard short.
Sacks of Parks killed two more Plainfield possessions, including one in the final 4 minutes that had reached the Belleville 24. Finally, when the Wildcats regained possession with 1:59 remaining, they used a 27-yard pass from Parks to Alce Smith to get into scoring position once more.
They worked their way to a fourth-and-2 at the 22 with 1:04 left and called a timeout.
Engelsen was summoned, but missed his 39-yard attempt.
"I'm not going to second-guess myself on that last play (the field goal attempt)," Jackson said. "That's why there are Monday morning quarterbacks."
Thus, the end of one outstanding season.
"I love these kids," Jackson said. "These seniors are one of the finest groups of young men that I have had the privilege to coach."
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