Kick, pick by Gonzalez lifts Sequoits

Updated: September 17, 2011 12:34AM

George Gonzalez booted a 22-yard field goal with 1:41 left in the game to lift host Antioch past Vernon Hills 10-7 on Friday in a battle of North Suburban Conference Prairie Division powers.

Antioch (4-0 overall, 2-0 division) snapped Vernon Hills’ 15-game division winning streak. The last time the Cougars (2-2 overall, 1-1 division) lost in the loop was 38-35 to Antioch in October of 2008. That was the season Antioch was undefeated until the semifinals of the IHSA Class 6A playoffs.

Gonzalez’s kick capped a 12-play, 68-yard drive that burned 6:02 off the clock.

He then topped off his magnificent night by intercepting a pass with 52 seconds left to clinch the victory.

Antioch took a 7-0 lead on Danny Arden’s (25 carries, 129 yards) one-yard TD run early in the second quarter. It capped a 12-play, 54-yard drive by the ground-oriented Sequoits.

Vernon Hills came right back and got even on a trick play that worked on third-and-19.

Quarterback Steve Nelson threw a lateral to wideout M.J. Crowley, and Crowley then fired a long pass to a wide-open Jarrett Wood for a 33-yard score.

But the rest of the way, defenses dominated.

Antioch limited Vernon Hills to 39 yards in the second half (153 for the game) and had two interceptions.

“When a team wears the crown, they’re not just going to give it to you. You have to go get it,” said Antioch coach Brian Glashagel. “That’s what our boys did tonight. They earned it.”

As for his team’s defensive unit, the coach gushed with pride.

“We have a lot of seniors who take pride in playing defense,” the coach said, “and they hate giving up a yard to anybody. They’re extremely resilient. Last year, we had some things not go our way and we collapsed, but these guys just keep sticking with it. I’m so proud of them.”

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