Stay Connected with YourSeason
Football: Boylan hangs on to top WW South
| Rob Dicker~Sun-Times Media
Updated: November 26, 2011 9:43PM
CHAMPAIGN-- Despite a heroic comeback and a near fantastic and dramatic reversal, WW South could not overcome the Titans’ big-play offense and a critical holding call.
Boylan quarterback Lamont Toney (240 yards) had a 72-yard rushing touchdown and added a 79-yard touchdown pass as the Titans built a 13-0 lead and snuffed the Tigers’ late rally for the 21-14 Class 7A state title Saturday night at Memorial Stadium.
The scintillating game featured a rare showdown of defending state champions. The defending Class 6A champions, Boylan stepped up a weight class and showed off its mettle. The Titans recorded their 28th consecutive victory and halted the Tigers’ nine-game winning streak.
Toney completed 6 of 9 attempts for 133 yards and rushed for 107 yards on 14 carries.
“We played a very good team in Rockford Boylan,” WWS coach Ron Muhitch said. “When you play against a great team, you have to be perfect in what you do and though we played outstanding at times, we made some mistakes today that cost us.”
Boylan (14-0) stunned the Tigers on its first play from scrimmage. After star Tigers’ running back Dan Vitale was stuffed on fourth down, Toney executed a fake and dashed untouched down the right sideline 72-yards for the 7-0 lead.
“They were focused on [stopping] Tyreis Thomas,” Toney said. “I made a great read and I followed my blockers to the end zone.” On the Titans’ second possession, Toney’s 44-yard dart to Jaxson Meister set up Sean Slattery’s 27-yard field goal for the 10-0 Boylan lead.
Down 13-0 to start the third quarter, the Tigers (10-4) finally got untracked. Limited to just 21 yards on 10 carries in the first half, Vitale ripped off a 23-yard run on his first carry. Two plays later, Vitale juked out a Titan defensive back and scored on a 24-yard touchdown run to pull the Tigers within 13-7.
“I was a lot more patient in the second half,” said the Northwestern-bound Vitale. “I had a lot more faith in my offensive line, to follow them, to know they’d create the holes for me if I just followed them,“ he said.
The momentum changed at the end of the third quarter. Defensive lineman Greg Hohenstein recovered Thomas’s fumble. Vitale’s 20-yard burst set up a first and goal. WW South quarterback Jordan Davis, a sophomore third stringer starting his first game of the year, was tackled inside the 1.
The big play was nullified by a holding call.
“The biggest play was a Dan Vitale’s chin strap,” Muhitch said. “We tried to get it fixed on the field, but we couldn’t, he had to come out and get it fixed. On the play he missed, his [substitute] was called for holding.”
On third and goal from the 19-yard line, Ty Zimmerman intercepted Davis.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, Toney connected with Jackson (three catches, 127 yards) for the 79-yard touchdown pass. Thomas' two-point conversion run extended the Titans’ lead to 21-7. Thomas gained 139 yards on 20 carries.
“On Toney’s run, he made an athletic one and one play and made our kid missed and he was gone,” Muhitch said. “On the pass play, that was a blown coverage. We can’t have a guy run down the middle of the field uncovered. You have to credit them. They called the play and challenged our secondary.”
Tigers’ linebacker Adam Dansdill stripped Toney and returned the fumble recovery 17-yards for a touchdown with 5:49 remaining. “I knew we had to get the ball back at that point,“ Dansdill said.
WW South’s miracle recovery appeared possible after an apparent Boylan touchdown pass was ruled incomplete in the end zone. Danny Appino blocked Slattery’s subsequent 26-yard field goal attempt that gave the Tigers possession at their own 32-yard line with 1:42 remaining.
“I thought it was Glenbard North all over again,“ linebacker Daniel Roadman said of the October 13-7 victory on a blocked punt return.
Jordan threw three incomplete passes and was sacked by Austin Smith and threw two incomplete on consecutive passes to end the Tigers’ dream.
“It’s a blessing to have the kind of kids we’ve had the last two years,” Boylan coach Dan Appino said. “It’s also vindication of Class 6A as well as 7A.”
© 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.
Cell Phone Alerts
Comments Click here to view or make a comment