Football: Richards sees its run undone by Argo

On a night filled with plenty of lightning strikes - and quick strikes by both offenses - Richards' streak of reaching the state playoffs came to an end.

Kendale Cooper's 1-yard touchdown run, followed by Bobby Pettis' 2-point conversion run, with 1:35 left in the fourth quarter lifted Argo to a 36-32 win over Richards in Summit.

Richards (4-5, 3-2 South Suburban Red) had qualified for the state playoffs for 23 straight years before being denied Friday.

It was also Argo's first-ever football win over Richards.

Argo led 28-26 before Richards scored on a 22-yard TD pass from Jon Ryan to Keith Sconiers with five minutes left in the game. The 2-point try failed, leaving Richards ahead 32-28.

Pettis' 3-yard touchdown run and 2-point conversion run midway through the fourth quarter had given Argo a 28-26 lead.

Pettis racked up 215 yards on 29 carries through three quarters. His backfield mate, Jeffrey Hopkins, had 110 yards rushing of his own.

Argo (4-5, 2-3) came up with a big defensive stop on Richards' first possession when Diazon Richardson sacked Ryan on fourth-and-11 at the Argo 16-yard line.

The Argonauts' momentum carried over to the offense as Pettis broke a 20-yard run to midfield and a 22-yarder down to the Richards 2 to set up Cooper's 2-yard touchdown run. Pettis' 2-point conversion run made it an 8-0 game.

Richards answered with two scores in the closing minutes of the first quarter. Sconiers set the Bulldogs up with a short field with a 25-yard kickoff return to the Bulldogs' 45, and Ryan hit Johnny Holmes with a 36-yard touchdown pass to pull Richards to within 8-6.

After Richards recovered a muff on the ensuing kickoff, Ryan found Shaun Pratl for a 16-yard gain down to the 1, from where Ryan punched it in to give the Bulldogs a 12-8 lead.

After a 45-minute lightning delay late in the second quarter, Richards' offense continued to roll, as Jon Wolf ran for 13 yards, then carried for 18 yards and finally scrambled for a 6-yard touchdown to extend the Richards lead to 18-8.

Argo answered right back to grab some momentum heading into the break. Pettis was able to plow through a couple of Richards defenders to score on 4th-and-goal from the 3 on the last play of the half to make it an 18-14 game.

The Argonauts got the ball first in the second half, and Pettis wasted no time, burning the Richards defense on the second play of the half with a 65-yard touchdown run to put Argo on top 20-18.

The lead was short-lived, though, as Sconiers returned the ensuing kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown. Ryan's 2-point pass to Tim Lee gave Richards a 26-20 lead.