Fourth-quarter splurge hurts the Skyhawks

By Todd Rohde~CORRESPONDENT

For three straight quarters, the Johnsburg football team gave Crystal Lake Central all that they could handle Oct. 12th as they hung around with the Tigers. But unfortunately for the Skyhawks, a tough fourth quarter in which the Tigers splurged for 21 unanswered points was more than enough to do them in by falling in defeat.

The Skyhawks were on the losing end of being shutout by a 28-0 margin by the Tigers in Fox Valley Conference action in Johnsburg. The loss dropped the Skyhawks to 0-8 overall and to 0-6 in league play for the season, as CLC improved to 6-2 and 4-1 for the year as they look forward to the post-season playoffs.

This game proved to be a defensive battle, as both teams were able to take a stand and make the other work hard for everything that they got. Despite moving the ball on occasions, neither team was able to muster up respectable drives, especially in the first half.

Although the Skyhawks are a young and rebuilding team, give them credit for not rolling over and being able to match the intensity of the more experienced Tigers. Johnsburg kept CLC off the board for the first quarter of play, as the two teams battled to a scoreless tie.

They finally were able to reach the end zone early in the second quarter though, as the Tigers grabbed a 7-0 lead. They did so as Connor Hones used some key blocks upfront to break free out of the backfield in finding the end zone from 26-yards out for the game’s first score.

Little did either team know at the time that this would be the first and only score of the contest until the final quarter. Two things played key roles in the Tigers struggling to get things rolling on offense and those were poor starting field position on their possessions and the Skyhawks’ ability to limit any big plays from taking place.

After a scoreless third quarter by both teams, the Tigers would regain their composure and take over in the final 12 minutes of play when it counted the most to run away with the game and seal the victory. They did so by pounding the ball at the Johnsburg defense, moving the ball with consistency and feeding off of their own momentum.

The Tigers increased their lead to 14-0 with just under nine minutes left in the contest, as Hines once again found his way into the end zone. This time he did so on an eight-yard run, as the point-after attempt split the uprights.

Unfortunately for the Skyhawks, this would be just the start of good things to come for the Tigers as they would go on to score two more times in the next four-plus minutes of play. Two big plays would get the job done, as they crossed the goal line first on a 22-yard completion and then a 47-yard rushing  score.

Hines was the big difference maker in the game for the Tigers, as he finished with over 100 yards on the ground and a pair of touchdowns. CLC finished the game with nearly 300 total yards of offense in the game, as they had a balanced attack between running and passing the ball.

The Skyhawks will close out the regular season by traveling to Woodstock on Oct. 19 for the finale against the Blue Streaks.

 


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