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St Francis scores late to edge Vernon Hills
Updated: September 3, 2011 2:04AM
St. Francis doesn’t tie games.
It wins them.
After a Nick Donati 10-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Rutkowski with four seconds to play cut the Vernon Hills lead to 21-20, St. Francis decided to go for two.
Junior halfback Jack Petrando rumbled into the end zone for the two-point conversion, giving the Spartans a 22-21 victory Friday over the Cougars in Vernon Hills.
Petrando rushed for 192 yards and two touchdowns for St. Francis (2-0).
“It was one of the greatest comebacks I’ve been associated with in over forty years,” St. Francis coach Greg Purnell said. “It was a great gut check for the kids.”
Trailing 14-0 at halftime, St. Francis unleashed their running game in the second half led by Petrando, who punched in a five-yard touchdown after a 55-yard drive to cut the deficit to 14-6. St. Francis missed the extra point.
The Spartans added a three-yard touchdown on their next possession. They punched in the two-point conversion to tie the game at 14.
Vernon Hills (1-1) responded with a one-yard quarterback keeper by Steve Nelson for a 21-14 lead.
With 3:20 left on the clock, St. Francis took over on the 49-yard line. In thrilling fashion, the Spartans put together a touchdown drive capped off by Donati’s strike to Rutkowski, setting up Petrando’s heroics.
“I said before the game this was gonna be whoever has the ball last wins and they went out and proved it,” Vernon Hills coach Tony Monken said.
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