Shaw saves the day
Senior defensive back breaks up 2-point conversion passwith 46 seconds left to lift Brother Rice past Wheaton Warrenville South in 7A first round
On a night when Brother Rice had to fight until the final minute, senior defensive back Khary Shaw delivered the knockout blow.
Shaw broke up Wheaton Warrenville South’s potential go-ahead 2-point conversion pass with 46 seconds to go Saturday and the host Crusaders held on for a 27-26 win in a Class 7A firstround playoff game.
Matt Sommerdyke’s pass over the middle was in the hands of receiver Quentin Spencer in the end zone before Shaw jarred it loose.
“I just threw the best punch I could,” Shaw said. “The best left cross I had. That’s what happened. I hit his arms and elbows.
“Our coaches always tell me to play the hands. I’m just happy I listened to my coaches.”
Ninth-seeded Brother Rice (8-2) will visit 25th-seeded Yorkville (6-4) in the second round.
Wheaton Warrenville South (5-5) trailed 27-20 before Sommerdyke stunned the Crusaders’ fans with a 60-yard touchdown pass to Reece Young with 46 seconds to go.
The 24th-seeded Tigers immediately lined up to go for two, and Shaw knew the season was potentially on the line.
“When it’s something like this, you can’t lose,” Shaw said. “That’s all I was thinking. ‘Can’t lose.’ I saw that concept a lot from them, that delayed slant.
“I thought I wasn’t going to make the play. I thought I was too slow. I trusted my hands, playing through his hands.”
Brother Rice coach Brian Badke knows Shaw can come up with big plays.
“Khary is a heck of a football player,” Badke said. “Sometimes, he’s a wild card. But he’s our wild card and I’m proud of him. He definitely made a play when we need him to.”
Brother Rice, which scored at least 40 points in every regular-season game aside from one forfeit win, struggled to get going and was hurt by three turnovers.
Notre Dame recruit Jack Lausch threw two interceptions but ran for three TDs and threw a 20-yard TD pass to Aaron Vaughn.
Lausch engineered a game-winning, 73-yard scoring drive that started with 5:12 remaining. Vaughn ran six times for 27 yards and Lausch hit Da’Kobie Wordlaw for 6 yards on a third-and-2.
Lausch capped the drive with a 14-yard TD run.
“I saw heart,” Lausch said. “We played fast. We executed. We had confidence to go down there and score. It was just, ‘Have fun, win the game.’ We’ve been in those situations before.”
Wheaton Warrenville South
sent a message it was not going to be an easy night for the Crusaders on the game’s opening kickoff, which Young returned 95 yards for a TD.
“Obviously, we didn’t play our best,” Badke said. “It was not a good way to start the game. That took the wind out of our sails.
“We’ll get better from this. The kids were resilient. Jack and all our offense will find the corrections to make and get better. I’m proud of our defense, making big plays.”
Lausch finished completing 12 of 27 passes for 129 yards and also ran for 142 yards on 16 carries. Vaughn added 102 yards on 19 carries. Wordlaw had six catches for 58 yards.
Trey Pierce led Brother Rice’s defense with a sack and several big tackles. Jack Mallon had a fumble recovery. Brother Rice allowed Sommerdyke to complete 17 of 28 passes for 252 yards, but came up with the big plays when needed.
“It’s really nice to know that we have the potential to fire on all cylinders,” Pierce said. “I really like how we came together on defense. It was amazing.”