Placekickers have been known to leave their coaches speechless. But it’s usually after watching a potential game-winner sail wide of the uprights.
Nick Setta is not your typical kicker.
“You can’t explain it,” said Lockport coach Brett Kooi after watching Setta’s 38-yard field goal with 18 seconds left give the 18th-ranked Porters (6-1, 4-1) a 19-16 victory over host Thornton (3-4, 1-4) Saturday in the SICA Blue. “He’s incredible.”
Setta, who kicked a state-record 59-yarder last year, missed his first extra point of the year following Craig Duppong’s 7-yard touchdown run in the third quarter. But he insisted that wasn’t on his mind when he lined up his potential game-winner.
“If I would have gone out there trying to redeem myself, I would have missed it,” said Setta, who also connected on a 32-yarder in the first quarter. “I just tried to relax and put it through the poles.”
The Wildcats, on the other hand, were playing to keep their playoff hopes alive. After advancing to the 6A quarterfinals last year, the loss eliminated them from playoff contention.
“We laid it all on the line today,” Thornton coach Bill Mosel said. “We couldn’t do anymore than we did.”
Mather 27, Lane Tech 14: Mather (6-1, 4-0) clinched its eighth consecutive section title behind Mike Rice, who had touchdown runs of 2 and 42 yards, and Tony Ramirez (9-16, 196 yards), who threw for a score and ran for another. Lane Tech drops to 4-3, 3-1 in the Public Illini North.
Driscoll 27, Marian Central 26: After Marian (4-3, 3-2 Suburban Catholic) took a 26-21 lead with 40 seconds left, Driscoll (2-5, 2-3) engineered an 80-yard drive, capped by Jeff Aspito’s 38-yard “Hail Mary” pass to Pat Arlis, who tipped it to Guy Nardulli for the victory as the gun sounded.
Marian Catholic 21, Brother Rice 14: Marian (5-2, 3-1) rallied for 14 points to overtake Brother Rice (4-3, 2-2) in the Catholic Metro Blue. Terrence Pirtle (19 carries, 68 yards) scored on a 1-yard plunge midway through the fourth to tie the game at 14-14, and then Tom Bijak (65 yards) scored on a 7-yard run with 3:15 left after a Kevin Hanifan interception had given the Spartans the ball at midfield.
Jeremiah Adeszko had a 58-yard TD run for Brother Rice, and Jack Winters recovered two fumbles and returned one 3 yards for the Crusaders’ other score.
Marmion 18, St. Francis 9: Marmion (6-1, 4-1), by virtue of Montini’s upset loss to St. Edward, moved into a tie for the Suburban Catholic lead. The Cadets led 15-0 after one quarter and held on. Tom Koutsos (25 carries, 119 yards) followed Alex Aquino’s 3-yard TD run with a 5-yard scoring run of his own. Joe Mayer then kicked a 26-yard field goal to finish the scoring for Marmion. Matt Rotta had the lone touchdown for St. Francis (4-3, 2-3) on a 5-yard run.
Oak Forest 35, Oak Lawn 20: Greg Strange threw for two touchdowns, including a 77-yarder to Dan Lang for the first score of the game for Oak Forest (4-3, 3-2 in the SICA Orange). Strange also added a 43-yard run for another TD. Tacho Gamino threw two TD passes for Oak Lawn (4-3, 3-2) in a losing cause.
St. Edward 22, Montini 14: Jim Layden rushed for 233 yards, including a 95-yard touchdown run, as St. Edward (3-4, 2-3 Suburban Catholic) handed Montini (6-1, 4-1) its first loss. Layden, who carried the ball 16 times, also scored on a 54-yard run. Pat McGady scored both touchdowns for Montini, which fell into a two-way tie with Marmion for the conference lead.
Wilmington 13, Plano 7: In the Interstate Eight, Brady Wilkins rushed for 160 yards on 24 carries and scored on two 1-yard runs to keep Wilmington (7-0, 5-0) perfect on the season. The Wildcat defense stopped two late drives to preserve the victory. Matt Johns led Plano (3-4, 2-3) with 142 yards on the ground.