Riverside Brookfield High School senior Nick Baca of Riverside has an aunt, uncle and grandparents from Brookfield who regularly attend his home football games. Friday’s 28-26 home victory over Bartlett was extra special for the family. Baca’s grandfather, Richard, was among the military veterans honored at the game. Baca served on a Navy aircraft carrier in Vietnam. The Bulldogs’ weekly team dinner was held the day before at VFW Post 2868 in Brookfield.
“He’s always open to talk to us grandkids. There’s definitely been some crazy, scary and awesome stories,” Nick Baca said. “That was a special experience to go (to the VFW) and dine in the presence of veterans. Friday’s celebration was huge. It’s always important for the community as well as those players who had family in the military. It’s always nice to salute and commemorate them.”
Now it’s time for the Bulldogs to accomplish one of their missions – win the Upstate Eight Conference East Division.
RBHS (6-1, 3-0 in UEC East) plays host to Glenbard East (5-2, 4-0) this Friday, Oct. 9, with first place on the line. The Bulldogs visit third-place Glenbard South (5-2, 4-1) in the regular-season finale, Oct. 16.
In last year’s winner-take-all title showdown in the regular-season finale, the Bulldogs lost 45-43 in Lombard on a 47-yard field goal as time expired after taking the lead with 15.1 seconds left.
“We know what we’re playing for and obviously there’s a bad taste from what happened last year,” RBHS coach Sam Styler said. “We know it’s going to be a challenge. They’ve been a successful team and program at the top of our conference.”
The Bulldogs showed their resilience against winless Bartlett after falling behind 20-14 with 3:58 left in the third quarter.
With RBHS leading 28-20, the Hawks scored a touchdown with 4:22 left, but the Bulldogs stopped the two-point conversion run with linebacker Bryan Rimpila breaking through the end of the offensive line and making the tackle.
The two-point conversion was needed after Bartlett only pulled ahead 13-7 in the second quarter. Brandon Ruiz blocked the extra point.
“It was a little bit of a nail-biter, probably more so than it should have been. We didn’t play our best football, but we were able to rally,” Baca said. “We found a way to get a scrappy win. That’s always a good thing.”
The turning point came after RBHS pulled ahead 21-20 with quarterback Braeden Novak’s 1-yard TD run with 38 seconds left in the third quarter.
RBHS kicker Henry Jurgens executed an onside kick that Dean Mauban recovered at the Bartlett 46. On the next play, Novak hit James Organ with his second TD reception of the game for a 28-20 lead.
After Bartlett closed to 28-26, Organ recovered the Hawks’ onside kick. RBHS ate the clock all the way down to the Bartlett 20 with seven seconds left. The Hawks’ one play before time expired was a hook-and-ladder pass for 7 yards.
“The onside recovery and long TD to James set us up for success. We made plays when we needed to,” Styler said.
Novak passed for 143 yards and rushed for 93 also with an earlier 9-yard TD pass to Organ (4 catches, 77 yards). Leaders in total tackles were Rimpila (11, 2 for loss), Anthony Lembcke (10) and Jayden Lee (7). Tyler Schultz added a 4-yard TD run.
LTHS football
Lyons Township senior linebacker/tight end Aidan Webster had extra postgame congratulations, Friday, with Oak Park and River Forest seniors Liam Brown and Robert Kolovitz. The trio played traveling baseball together for Rake City.
On the football field, Webster sacked quarterback Brown for a 9-yard loss on the Huskies’ last offensive play to seal the Lions’ 34-10 victory in Western Springs.
“We talked about it a little bit but nothing too crazy,” Webster said. “In the second quarter I had (Brown). He had a nice move on me, got out of the pocket. Then to just hit him to end the game felt nice.”
The Lions (6-1, 3-1 in West Suburban Conference Silver Division), ranked No. 9 in Class 8A last week in the Illinois media poll, now are tied for the Silver lead with Glenbard West (5-2, 4-1) and Downers Grove North (6-1, 4-1), whom the Lions visit Friday, Oct. 9.
The Lions limited OPRF (3-4, 2-3) to 73 yards in the second half while building upon their 21-10 halftime lead. EJ Kuhlman had 18 carries for 246 yards with two huge runs. Kuhlman started things with a 73-yard TD run on the Lions’ first offensive play and a 6-yard TD for a 28-10 lead in the third quarter.
Senior tight end Owen Matela caught two first-half TD passes from senior quarterback Brendan McCabe – a well-placed high 13-yarder in the end zone and, following Kuhlman’s 63-yard run, a 29-yarder after catching the ball at the 16 and eluding two tacklers. This was the first time the Miami (Ohio) recruit scored twice in a high school game.
“That (29-yard TD) was my favorite because I caught it and made some dudes miss. That was super-fun,” Matela said. “We could have done better though (as a team). We have so much more potential.”
McCabe passed for 162 yards among seven receivers. That included Webster, who had a 7-yard TD catch for the Lions’ final score with 7:22 left. On the Huskies’ first possession of the second half, Webster also recovered a fumble at the Lions’ 49 caused by linebacker Colman O’Sullivan.
“That was all Colman. He’s been doing that all summer. We were looking for it to happen in a game,” Webster said.
Matela was on the right side of the line to help create Kuhlman’s 73-yard TD run along with guard Liam Corrigan and tackle Edwin Martinez. They had another great night with center Luke Vaupell, guard Mason Price and tackle Charlie Harrington.
“We worked the linebackers and saw no one was there. There was a huge hole and EJ did the rest,” Matela said.
“It was electric. It was just off to the races,” Corrigan said. “We went into the game knowing we’re going to have to run outside with the four-man front. And we have the best running back in the state.”
Declan Flynn’s interception and 25-yard return to the OPRF 26 set up the Lions’ second TD.
Flynn, Webster and Charlie Carlisle contributed to other tackles for loss. OPRF closed to 14-3 on a 30-yard field goal after Jack Lee broke up an end-zone pass.