By JAY SCHWAB – jschwab@kcchronicle.com
Winning formula eludes Saints
ST. CHARLES – The St. Charles East football team’s formula of playing great defense, minimizing turnovers and clutch offensive execution came unglued at the wrong time.
Few of those staples worked in East’s favor on Saturday as the Saints were knocked out in the first round of the 7A state playoffs, 26-7, by Rockton Hononegah. East committed four turnovers and continued to struggle to put points on the board.
This time, the Saints’ stout defense was not enough to save the day.
“We did not play our best game by any means but I give Rockton a lot of credit there,” East coach Mike Fields said. “They stripped the ball out a couple times, and we need to do a better job of hanging onto it.
“It’s football. The sun will come up again tomorrow and the kids are going to be OK, we’re going to be OK. This one’s already over for me. Right now I’m thinking about what they did in the regular season, winning that Upstate Eight. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”
After digging a 14-0 hole against the No. 9 seed Indians (8-2), No. 8 seed East excited its modest-sized home crowd with a 28-yard touchdown pass up the left sideline from senior quarterback Nolan Possley to Tyler Nutting off an option play with 1:48 to go before halftime. That cut Hononegah’s lead in half after the extra point.
The Saints ran more option this week in an effort to add juice to the offense, with junior running back Zach Zajicek (20 carries, 156 yards) usually the beneficiary.
“To be honest with you, we drew it up in the dirt,” Fields said of the touchdown play. “We just got together, Tyler and Nolan and Zach, and we just all talked about it and said ‘Let’s do this,’ and by gosh, it worked. That’s fun. That’s a great memory those kids are going to have and I’m going to have.”
The Indians, though, yanked momentum back on their side with a 67-yard touchdown drive to open the second half that took almost seven minutes off the clock. The drive included a crucial fourth-and-7 rush by Hononegah quarterback Chase Robinson from East’s 12 that, after a measurement, merited a first down.
“Our guys battled, that’s all there is to it,” Robinson said. “Our guys up front, our guys running the ball – It was a good game of clicking on all cylinders, and that’s what we needed today to beat a really good St. Charles East team.”
Standout East senior defensive end Jonathan Voytilla missed that series after taking a helmet to the knee but later returned.
“It was the last time I ever played on this field so I had to give it all,” Voytilla said.
Trailing 20-7 late in the third quarter, East went for a fourth-and-3 at midfield, but Hononegah defensive lineman Matt Dwyer drove Zajicek down in the backfield.
With that, East (7-3) was on life support after winning seven straight games to close the regular season.
Senior linebacker Phil Bucaro, who led East with 10 solo tackles, was distressed to see the season come to an end.
“This was the best year I’ve ever had,” Bucaro said. “We were all brothers, and we all hung out.”
The Saints made the most of a thin roster by 7A standards, playing most of their key guys on both sides of the ball.
“I’m going to miss the hell out of these seniors,” Fields said. “I love these kids. They’ve done and everything we’ve asked them to do, and I’m just so proud of them.”
ROCKTON HONONEGAH 26, ST. CHARLES EAST 7
Hononegah 7 7 6 6 – 26
East 0 7 0 0 – 7
First quarter
H – Grutsch 40 pass from Robinson (Adams kick), 6:54
Second quarter
H – Robinson 1 run (Adams kick), 5:24
E – Nutting 28 pass from Possley (Keller kick), 1:48
Third quarter
H – Robinson 1 run (kick failed), 5:14
Fourth quarter
H – Zimmerman 4 run (pass failed), 11:24
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING – Hononegah: Rothmaler 13-67, Wiltfang 10-31, Robinson 12-43, Chandler 2-minus 1, Zimmerman 6-37, Tucek 3-17. Totals: 46-195. East: Zajicek 20-156, Possley 21-55. Totals: 41-211.
PASSING – Hononegah: Robinson 5-9-0-61, King 0-1-1-0. East: Possley 5-14-1-65.
RECEIVING – Hononegah: Grutsch 1-40, Rothmaler 3-16, Masters 1-5. Totals: 5-61. East: Nutting 2-38, Striedl 1-7, Zajicek 1-13, Barry 1-7. Totals: 5-65.
TOTAL OFFENSE – Hononegah 255, East 276.