Stevenson holds off Lake Zurich

Birthdays are often filled with presents, candles and cake.

Stevenson High School receiver Henry Wood added something else to his 18th birthday: a game-winning touchdown catch.

With Friday's NSC Lake showdown against Lake Zurich tied 17-17, Wood snared a 42-yard bomb from quarterback Zach Wujcik.

"It's the best birthday present I could ever ask for," Wood said. "We worked on that play all week in practice. It (Friday night) was the best we've done it all week."

Host Lake Zurich (2-2, 1-1) couldn't respond to the late touchdown. When the next drive stalled at midfield, Stevenson (2-2, 2-0) walked off with a 24-17 victory.

Wood shared the spotlight with Wujcik and receiver Michael Bilton. The lefty QB recovered from a slow start to complete 18 of 34 passes for 245 yards with 2 TDs. Bilton was his favorite target, grabbing 10 balls for 145 yards and 1 TD.

Back in the first quarter, Bilton returned a kickoff 94 yards for a touchdown.

The Bears controlled the game early, taking a 7-0 lead on an 8-yard TD run by Andrew Maloney. Early in the second quarter, Maloney scored again from 1 yard to give LZ a 14-7 lead.

But the Patriots squared things before halftime when Bilton collected a 6-yard TD catch off a tipped ball.

"The Mikey magic is working," Wood said. "He always seems to be in the right place." Wood was the right man late in the fourth quarter, though.