David McCoy kicks Burlington Central to FVC win against Dundee-Crown

CARPENTERSVILLE – In high school football, sometimes the biggest weapon you can possibly have is the guy who sees the field the least.

Burlington Central senior kicker David McCoy nailed a 37-yard field goal with three seconds left to lift the Rockets to a thrilling 24-22 victory over Dundee-Crown Friday night.

“The pressure was on a little bit,” McCoy said. “I was pretty confident I could make the kick. I’m thanking my team for putting me in the position to finally do that.

“I make those kicks all the time, so I knew I just had to go out there and be confident.”

This was McCoy’s second such game-winner of his career after beating Hampshire in the final seconds of Week 8 last season.

McCoy’s moment wasn’t possible without huge pressure plays from Rockets quarterback Jackson Alcorn. The senior played with amazing poise all night, especially in the game’s final 53 seconds after Dundee-Crown (1-1) scored on a quarterback keeper followed by a 2-point conversion to take a 22-21 lead.

“I make those kicks all the time, so I knew I just had to go out there and be confident.”

—  David McCoy, Burlington Central senior kicker

After a nice kick return set up Central with great field position, an intentional grounding penalty pushed the Rockets back across midfield with only one timeout remaining. Alcorn then converted three straight passes to push the ball down to the 20-yard line with only nine seconds left.

“I’ve always lived for these moments, the big pressure moments,” Alcorn said. “When I’m on the sideline, I was as cool as a cucumber the whole time. I knew I had the trust of the guys around me. I knew we were going to move the ball on them and get David into field goal position.”

Alcorn was money in key situations all night. After rushing for a 6-yard score early in the second quarter, he threw a 30-yard touchdown pass to Lucas Kerr on fourth-and-24 to make it a 14-7 game. Then, in the third quarter with the score tied at 14, he found Kerr again on fourth down, this time facing fourth-and-goal from the 7.

Alcorn finished with 9-of-18 passing for 139 yards, four of which went to Kerr for 74 yards. Christian Livingston added five receptions for 65 yards.

It spoiled a strong effort from Dundee-Crown and quarterback Hayden DeMarsh. He was 11-of-16 passing for 194 yards. He threw touchdown passes of 12 and 20 yards. He also scored the touchdown with 53 seconds left before converting the 2-point pass.

Terrion Spencer caught eight passes for 129 yards and a score.

“We had some penalties, and we had some [missed assignments] defensively and offensively that hurt us and put us behind the chains,” said D-C coach Mike Steinhaus. “I told the kids we have to work through the adversity, and we did. But I’m proud of our guys. It just [stinks].”