Romeoville falls in overtime to Plainfield Central, misses out on second win

Although Plainfield Central and Romeoville will not make the playoffs in the 2019 season, Friday night was not an indicator of the two teams records.

Four quarters was not enough for one of the teams to come away with the victory.

Even though the Wildcats (1-6, 1-5) eventually prevailed 16-13, the Spartans (1-6, 1-5) did not go down without a fight.

"I thought our defense was great in the first half," said coach Justin Trovato. "In the second half Central got going a little bit and obviously won, but I was proud of how our team fought the entire way."

The Spartans got off to a quick start in the game with a four-yard passing touchdown from senior quarterback Tyrell Ross-childs to senior tight end Donovan Dehoyos.

With a 7-0 lead and 7:05 left in the first quarter, the Spartans defense didn't miss a beat.

A missed 30-yard field goal by Wildcat junior kicker Tanner Rains was the final drive for the Wildcat's in the first quarter, so the Wildcats went into the second quarter with a 7-0 deficit.

In the second quarter, a 25-yard field goal redeemed Rains that put the score at 7-3.

Both defenses didn't give an inch for the remaining part of the first half, and the first two quarters of play had the Spartans going into halftime with a 7-3 lead.

"Down at the half but our guys have been thrown in the fire all season long," said coach Jon Pereiro. "Battled adversity and our team never gives up no matter what."

A momentum shift started with the first play of the third quarter with a Spartan fumble on the opening kickoff that was picked up by the Wildcats.

The Spartans got the ball back right away however, after an interception thrown by junior quarterback Chris Leto (11-for-22, 86 yards).

Leto and the Wildcat offense quickly got things turned around following the interception with a 30-yard touchdown pass to senior receiver Dillon Koty.

With a 10-7 Wildcat lead going into the fourth quarter, the Spartans did not want their lead to slip away.

A 30-yard field goal with 6:53 left in the game to tie it up at 10, once again put the ball into the hands of the Wildcat quarterback.

Another interception thrown by Leto to Spartan senior cornerback Antonio Orozco gave the Spartans another chance following the costly turnover.

"We had plenty of chances to put the game away tonight," Trovato said. "We just weren't able to unfortunately do that."

With an interception thrown by Ross-childs and the Wildcats unable to capitalize, the two teams went to overtime.

The Spartans received the ball first in overtime, and started at their 10-yard line.

An inability to put the ball in the end zone resulted in a field goal, but the Spartans had a 13-10 lead with a chance to win the game.

Senior running back Bruce Pendleton (16 rushes, 70 yards) had a different agenda.

A seven-yard game winning touchdown run that had his teammates running out on the field and capturing the Wildcat's first win of the season, was something Pendleton said he will never forget.

"I just want to thank God for being in that position and thank all of my teammates," Pendleton said. "This is going to go down as my best football moment I've ever had."