Sandwich survives against Harvard

Sandwich found itself fighting for its playoff life Friday at home against Harvard in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs, but made enough plays in the fourth quarter to advance with a 24-23 win.

After watching a 14-0 lead after one quarter turn into a 23-17 deficit after Brad Lovell scored from 4 yards out and quarterback Timmy Linhart hook up with Collin Nolen on the two-point conversion for Harvard, Sandwich came back to take the lead again. That came when Spencer Carlson (21 carries, 116 yards) scored on a 2-yard plunge with 2:55 to play.

But Harvard (7-3) rolled right back down the field and Nolen set up for the game-winning 29-yard field goal with seven seconds to play. Sandwich got a big surge at the line and Jeremy Anderson broke through to block the kick to save the game for the Indians.

“I saw it happening and I went as hard as I could,” Anderson said. “It was do or die right there.”

Anderson’s heroics were preceded by T.J. Crotty, who made two big plays on the nine-play, 61-yard drive that gave Sandwich the lead for good. Crotty, who rushed for a game-high 139 yards and had scored on a 69-yard drive to end the first quarter, got the winning drive started with a 32-yard run on the series’ first play.

Later, with the Indians facing a 4th-and-10 at the Hornets’ 36, he caught a 13-yard pass from Derrick Risley to keep the drive alive. It was the only completion on the night for the Indians, who also rushed for 291 yards.

“It’s the playoffs, baby, there’s nothing like it,” Crotty said. “We talked in the huddle and made our adjustments. I ran my route as hard as I could and Derrick put it on the money. It was a great play all around.”

Sandwich, which rolled to the 4A semifinals last season, improves to 8-2 and will travel to Gately Stadium in Chicago to play Harper, a 48-0 winner over Payton. The two teams met in the first round last year, where Sandwich won in a rout, 48-14.

“I was proud of the guys and how they fought to the finish,” said Sandwich coach Dusty Behringer. “I know these guys and what kind of fight they have in them, and I knew they would fight to the finish and do the best they could.”

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.