Black recovers, leads Rich Central

When Rich Central junior quarterback Devonte Black fumbled and lost the ball with four minutes to play, leading to a go-ahead touchdown by rival Rich East, he was in tears on the sidelines.

But senior running back Darelle Black made sure his kid brother didn't get too far down in the dumps.

"I told him to keep his head up and that he was a leader on this team," Darelle said. "I knew we were going to get another chance to win our homecoming game."

He was right.

Trailing 21-18 with 2:12 to play, Devonte directed the Olympians 65 yards in nine plays, culminating with a 30-yard touchdown pass to Lawrence Nettles with 40 seconds left to claim a stunning 24-21 Southland Athletic Conference win Friday night in Olympia Fields.

Rich Central (3-2, 2-0) had lost its last six meetings against Rich East (2-3, 0-2).

"Our coaches have a lot of confidence in our two-minute drill," said Devonte, who lit up the sky with 21-of-36 passing for 328 yards and three touchdowns.

"On the touchdown pass, we found an opening in the middle of their defense. Lawrence did a great job getting to the end zone after making the catch.

"I was really upset after making that fumble, but my brother really calmed me down."

After a scoreless first half, Rich East took control 14-0 in the third quarter on touchdown runs of 34 and 1 yard by Rondell Willingham (13 carries, 134 yards) and two extra-point kicks by Caleb Winston.

But the Black brothers (Devonte to Darelle) responded with a 13-yard scoring pass to make it 14-6 with 21 seconds left in the third period.

Moments later, Central's Jermaine Hughes recovered a fumble at the Rich East 25. After a Devonte Black pass to Nettles (5 catches, 83 yards) netted 22 yards to the 3, the former then ran the remaining distance for a 14-12 deficit.

Devonte's 85-yard scoring bomb to Shawn Mitchell Jr. lifted the Olympians to an 18-14 lead with 8:39 remaining.

But after Devonte's fumble gave Rich East possession at the Rich Central 32, Willingham finished the drive with a 5-yard run, followed by a Winston kick for a seemingly safe 21-18 margin.

"This is a huge victory for us," Rich Central coach Oliver Speller said. "We showed a lot of character. This team never gives up. Now we've got to build on this victory."

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