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Austin Fowler passes Crystal Lake South to win
Updated: October 28, 2011 11:45PM
Caught in a tough situation, Crystal Lake South turned to the Hail Mary but didn’t need a prayer.
Leading just 14-7 before the half Friday, Crystal Lake South quarterback Austin Fowler tried to throw a jump ball pass to the right corner of the end zone. Instead, he saw wide receiver Will Ahsmann running open behind Streamwood’s secondary on the opposite side of the field and threw a bomb for a 44-yard touchdown that propelled the Gators toward a 35-7 Class 7A home-field playoff victory.
“It was originally supposed to go to the far side, but he came back to the other side where it was two-on-two where we had a better chance of scoring a touchdown,” said Ahsmann.
Ahsmann’s TD catch provided a 21-7 halftime lead and he also caught a third-quarter, 26-yard TD pass from Fowler, who threw for 104 yards and three TDs on 5-of-9 passing.
“A lot of the big plays opened up tonight, but I’m not the type of quarterback that looks for big plays,” Fowler said. “I just read it and he was wide open and I tossed him up the ball.”
The third-seeded Gators got 157 rushing yards and a 5-yard fourth-quarter TD run from tailback Reese Dziedzic, but it was the big pass play before half that provided impetus so they could match the record for school victories with a 9-1 record.
“It was harsh,” said Streamwood defensive back/running back Alex Morrow. “We were supposed to be in prevent and they got lucky going deep.
“Had we had momentum I think things would have changed around. That was a big play that helped them out.”
Ahsmann is the son of Gators head coach Chuck Ahsmann, and he had been the defensive back victimized moments before the TD bomb by Streamwood’s 4th-and-goal, 4-yard TD pass by Sabres quarterback Dalton Lundeen to wide receiver Blake Holder to make the score 14-7.
“So I was real (ticked) at him for getting beat in the end zone — he had to redeem himself before I could yell at him at halftime,” joked the Gators coach.
Brad Walovitch caught Fowler’s first TD pass, a 15-yarder with 47 seconds left in the first quarter, and Walovitch added the first of his five extra-point kicks. Then South added to the lead with Steve Forner’s 6-yard TD run 2:04 before halftime.
But South marched 60 yards to Holder’s TD and appeared to be back in the game before the Hail Mary pass. In the third quarter, an interception by South’s Brandon LaPak of Lundeen (11-of-25, 136 yards) set up Ahsmann’s second TD catch, which made it 28-7.
South’s defense took care of the rest, holding Streamwood to 56 yards rushing for the game.
“We anticipated more of the I-back running stuff from them but they came out in a shotgun spread and we had to make the adjustment,” Chuck Ahsmann said. “And our guys did. I’m real proud of them.”
The 14th-seeded Sabres finished 6-4 in their first playoff appearance since 2002.
“No matter the outcome, it’s a great experience to be a part of,” Holder said. “I’m just really proud of our team because nobody thought we’d be here besides us.
“It’s just a good feeling. We didn’t go all the way, but we gave it our all and that’s what matters.”
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