South Elgin's 20-19 victory on the road Friday against Thornton Fractional South was as impressive as it was shocking.
Forget the Storm's 2-hour and 40-minute bus ride to Lansing to play the Rebels on homecoming night.
Thornton Fractional South came into the game undefeated (4-0) and rich in history, having qualified for the playoffs 10 consecutive seasons.
Third-year South Elgin came into the game with four wins -- in program history (4-18).
In all fairness, TFS was missing its regular starting quarterback -- Josh Titus (shoulder) -- and that more than likely played a big factor looking back. Backup Jake Reynolds (3-for-9, 19 yards) was pulled by the start of the fourth quarter with his team trailing 20-nil.
But Titus doesn't play defense. And he would have been in catch up mode faster than he would have liked on this evening.
The Storm dominated both sides of the ball for three solid quarters. In the end, a couple of fluke plays (tipped-pass reception for a TD, on-side recovery leading to another score) and some big plays in desperation by the opposing team made the score close.
That happened because this game was won in the first half, when the Storm put together the best half of football the program has ever exhibited against a proven team.
South Elgin (2-3) came out clicking on all cylinders. It took the Storm 5:12 to construct an 11-play, 73-yard opening scoring drive that featured four first downs and an 8-3 run-to-pass ratio (I bet the Rebels didn't see that coming). It ended with a perfectly timed 10-yard quick slant up the middle from QB Patrick Rae to wideout Josh Smith.
On Thornton's first possession, the Rebels started with a four yard run. On the next play, they fumbled and it was recovered by South Elgin's Sean Kolber. After a lengthy delay, the fumble was overturned (I'm still not sure why) and Thornton was credited with a six-yard gain, leaving TFS 3rd-and-1 from its own 39-yard line. Reynolds tried a QB sneak, but was stuffed by a wall of Storm defenders for no-gain, bringing up fourth-and-1.
The Rebels decided to go for it. Let's just say it wouldn't be their last mistake on a fourth-down decision. On the next play, Kolber got some justice after dropping Reynolds for a sack, forcing a turnover on downs.
Rae went right back to work. He would complete all four of his passes on another scoring drive, including a 14-yarder to Smith on 2nd-and-long and finding Shawn Ryan for a nine-yard TD with 12 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Total yards 1st quarter: South Elgin over TFS 110-11.
Thornton went three-and-out on its next drive to start the second quarter.
South Elgin took the ball with 11:05 on the clock and impressively whittled 8:50 off the timepiece with a 17-play drive that began at its own 17-yard line. Rae had two third-down completions on the drive, the biggest a 12-yard strike to Phillip Kawabata. The Storm got all the way down to the Rebels 4-yard line, but a personal foul penalty after a short run put the team in field goal mode.
Freshman David Reisner pushed the lead to 17-0 with a 36-yard boot. He would later add a 38-yarder in the third quarter.
Thornton Fractional South's next possession: Three-and-out.
South Elgin got the ball back with 1:33 left in the half and ran out the clock.
Total yards 1st Half: South Elgin over TFS 230-18.
Total first downs: 14-0.
Total offensive plays: 40-10.
Rae's first-half numbers: 10-of-14 passing for 117 yards and 2 TDs, completing passes to five different players. Smith (4-37) and Jake Kumerow (3-49) were his favorite targets. He added 20 yards rushing on 4 totes.
Titus or no Titus, the Storm came to play -- for the second straight week. Last week, South Elgin beat Elgin 42-28, a game which players and coaches both credited afterward with triggering an impactful change in the program's attitude.
St. Charles North, you have been forewarned.
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