Football: Sandburg Stuns H-F, Secures Playoff Berth

Breaking It Down: secured an outright playoff berth by pulling off an upset Friday night in Orland Park, defeating  31-28.

The Vikings showed just how explosive their offense can be, scoring on their first possession of the game on a 34-yard touchdown pass from Tim Williams to Sean Jones. The two connected again early in the fourth quarter, from 73 yards out. Williams finished the game with 281 yards and four total touchdowns.

In the second quarter, Sandburg's Anthony Adams fired downfield to Lemonte Booker for a 35-yard touchdown. The Vikings had the ball fourth-and-short in Eagles territory and the Sandburg defense held, but an Eagle turnover gave H-F the ball with a short field. The Vikings failed to capitalize on the chances, and that would eventually cost them the game.

Sandburg's Ted Vergados added a 35-yard field goal to give the Eagles a 10-7 edge at the half. On the first series of the second half, Williams found Sheldon Jones from 16 yards out to give the Vikings a 14-10 lead. Trevor Dapkus was on the receiving end of a 3-yard touchdown pass to answer the H-F score and give Sandburg the lead for good, though the lead never seemed secure until the final whistle. 

Sandburg's Alec Melone had a banner night at running back, rushing for 140 yards in all, but the highlight was his 49-yard touchdown run to start the fourth quarter. 

The Vikings got the aforementioned 73-yard touchdown pass just moments after the Melone TD. Then the H-F defense seemingly forced Sandburg's offense off the field. A roughing-the-punter penalty against the Vikings on fourth-and-4 yielded a first down for Sandburg, which led to a Booker 3-yard touchdown run. It wasn't the first time a penalty cost the Vikings points. An earlier Vikings touchdown was called back on a holding penalty.

Williams scored on a quarterback draw with just under a minute left, but Sandburg's Joe Fischer recovered the onside kick to seal the victory.

Patch MVP: Sandburg's Alec Melone had 17 carries good for 140 yards and two catches for 24 yards. Melone had a 49-yard rushing touchdown.

Sandburg Stat Pack: Anthony Adams went 5-of-10 passing for 75 yards and two touchdowns. Lemonte Booker had two total touchdowns (run, pass) on 16 carries for 88 yards and two receptions for 40 yards. Treveor Dapkus had 12 rushes for 50 yards and one catch for a touchdown.

H-F Stat Pack: Tim Williams went 18-for-33 passing for 281 yards and four total touchdowns (three pass, one rush). Anfernee Roberts had 10 carries for 66 yards and two catches for 35 yards. Sean Jones had five catches for 147 yards and two touchdowns.

Quotable I: H-F head coach Craig Buzea on his team's performance: "We didn't play with a purpose tonight. Obviously, Sandburg was playing for something and we weren't. We didn't come out with the same passion for the game. They looked like a team that needed to win to make the playoffs."

Quotable II: Sandburg head coach Dave Wierzal on his team's big win: "I think the biggest part of the win for us tonight is that we showed we can be competitive with a great football team. I also feel like we improved from last week and we played four quarters of football. I'm very proud of our kids."

Team Records: Both teams finished the regular season at 6-3 overall and 4-3 in the SouthWest Suburban Blue.

What's Next: Stay tuned to Patch for first-round playoff pairings.

Other Scores of Note: Lemont 41, Oak Forest 13; Lincoln-Way North 35, Stagg 17; Tinley Park 34, Bremen 29.