O’Brien’s conversion carries Yorkville

Updated: September 10, 2011 12:48AM

Yorkville coach Karl Hoinkes made a decision to end the game. The host Foxes were either going to win on a two-point conversion or lose on a failed attempt.

On the first try the Foxes fell short, but a horse-collar tackle gave Yorkville a second chance from two yards away. Neil O’Brien (36 carries, 204 yards) bulldozed his way across the goal line and the Foxes celebrated a 43-42 overtime victory versus Ottawa in a Northern Illinois Big 12 crossover contest.

Scoring on a one-yard touchdown pass from William Hoffman to Colton Frazier, the Pirates forced Yorkville to put up a touchdown on its possession. Tristan Cuncha’s extra point caused Hoinkes to make a gutsy call. O’Brien needed three carries to hit paydirt, the final a four-yard burst, and Hoinkes already knew what he wanted. But the wrong kicker took the field, and Yorkville (3-0) needed a timeout to setup the final play.

“We really screwed up the call, because the wrong kicker (Arton Emini) went in, and he’s never run (the option play),” explained Hoinkes.

Emini’s older brother Ilir positioned for the extra point before the Foxes adjusted to the shotgun formation with quarterback Nick Gillette pitching the option to Ilir Emini. Emini was caught from behind and slung out of bounds shy of the goal line, but the flag came flying and the Foxes had another crack.

“Let’s face it, we were exhausted,” Hoinkes said. “I’m not going to put any pressure on a kicker to make that. I’ll take the loss or I’ll take the win.

“The kids were exhausted; we had no gas left,” continued Hoinkes. “The offensive line had poured everything out.”

Trailing 35-21 with 6:21 remaining, the Foxes emptied the tank just tying the game. After maneuvering 29 yards to the Ottawa 35, Gillette misfired on a pair of passes. On third down, he rambled 35 yards on a quarterback draw to trim the deficit to 35-28 with 4:16 on the clock.

On the first play of the ensuing possession, Hoffman fumbled the exchange and Aaron Hubbard recovered the loose ball at the Pirates 46. A 20-yard run by O’Brien brought the Foxes within 13 yards of the endzone, and two plays later Gillette bootlegged right and headed for the endzone with a full head of steam. Arton Emini knocked in his fifth extra point of the night and the game was knotted at 35 with 1:25 left on the clock.

“We’re starting something new right now; this is the beginning of something great,” said Gillette. “We come out every game expecting to win.

“We had great blocking,” added Gillette of his 35-yard touchdown run. “There was a huge hole. I just cut to the right and broke one tackle and Jordan Gingrich was there to seal it.”

The Pirates notched 21 points in the first 6:05 of the game as they were able to break containment and gain the edge. Miguel Hermosillo scored on runs of 59 and 77 yards while Tyler Fiesel went 62 yards for a touchdown. O’Brien answered with a 48 yard jaunt, and Gillette capped a 13 play, 66 yard drive with a 1-yard sneak.

Hoffman connected with Jeffrey Fantin for a 37-yard touchdown and the Pirates owned a 28-14 advantage at the intermission. Gillette and Ilir Emini hooked up a for a 19-yard score early in the final quarter, but the Pirates capitalized on a short field when Feisel broke loose for a 17-yard score at the 6:21 mark of the fourth quarter.

“We got done what we needed to get done,” O’Brien said. “The first time we’re 3-0 in a long time. Hopefully we can take this into Geneseo and go 4-0.”

The Foxes have a week to refill the tank.

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