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Coal City’s Cody Onsen tosses game-winner late
Updated: October 15, 2011 12:19AM
Coal City quarterback Cody Onsen spotted “Big Bird” down the middle of the field.
He was not open, but at 6 feet 6, Nick Peters is a lot of yellow uniform to target.
Minutes after Onsen’s legs had brought the Coalers back into a 14-14 tie in Friday night’s Interstate Eight crossover against neighborhood rival Wilmington, with both playoff-bound teams coming in 6-1, Coal City faced a third-and-12 at the Wilmington 20.
Onsen took the snap in the spread formation, stood up to the Wildcats’ rush and let it fly. Two defenders were in the back of the end zone with Peters, but somehow the ball slithered through and into the hands of the Coalers’ sophomore wide receiver for a 20-14 lead with 3:18 remaining.
That’s how the rivalry built on mutual respect would end as Coal City linebacker Nate Natyshok, a tackling machine on this night, recovered a Wilmington fumble just across midfield with 1:02 left.
“What a great catch,” Onsen said of Peters’ grab. “It was like Big Bird was out there with all that yellow.”
Onsen finished 9-of-21 passing for 159 yards and two touchdowns, including an early 47-yarder to Matt Halloran – perhaps a subpar night by his standards – but also rushed for 55 in 14 carries, one a 5-yard push on fourth-and-5 from the Wilmington 6 to set up first-and-goal and the tying touchdown. He ran basically from a Wildcat formation play after play in the fourth quarter.
“They were using a three-man front and there were some gaps,” Onsen explained the strategical move. “I just had to follow the lead blocker, and we thought we could pick up some yards that way.”
“We took away a lot of Cody’s throwing,” Wilmington coach Jeff Reents said. “But hey, with an offense like theirs, you have to pick your poison.”
Wilmington welcomed back senior fullback/linebacker Jayson Conlin, who had missed three games with a high ankle sprain. He was his usual ornery self defensively and rushed for 121 yards in 17 carries. The Wildcats ran for 222 in all after mounting long scoring drives on their first two possessions.
“We gave the fullback (Conlin) more than we should have early, but we did a better job defensively after the first two scores,” Coal City coach Lenny Onsen said. “And offensively, we moved the ball when we needed to.
“This was a battle. Everybody knew what kind of battle it would be. We have the utmost respect for Wilmington. This was a great victory to come from behind and win after we lost to Manteno (40-34) last week.”
“These were a couple of good teams giving it their best,” Reents said. “I can’t fault our effort, we just didn’t make some plays. That’s what it’s all about.
“I wish the Coalers the best in the playoffs.”
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