Lincoln-Way West survives double-overtime to top Lockport 40-39

LOCKPORT – With a playoff berth on the line, it all came down to trust.

Trailing by a point after a touchdown in the second overtime, Lincoln-Way West knew it was going for two points and the win. Chase Hetfleisch hit fellow senior Austin Rowswell with the 2-point conversion pass as Lincoln-Way West outlasted Lockport 40-39 in a Southwest Valley crossover Friday evening in Lockport.

“It’s the connection we have, “Rowswell said of he and Hetfleisch hooking up for the game-winning play. “I’ve told him in practice, if it comes down to it, throw it to me. Trust me and throw the ball to me.”

That’s what Hetfleisch did, firing a perfect pass to the left side. Rowswell had his man beat on the outside for the game-winning score. Hetfleisch finished 21-of-37 passing for 266 yards.

“What a game,” Lincoln-Way West coach Luke Lokanc said. “I think 99% of the coaches in the state would go for two in that situation, down one and on the road. We have a bunch of great kids and multi-sport athletes.

“We knew the game was going to be like this.”

With the full moon rising in the east, there were more twists and turns than a Halloween thriller. The Warriors (5-3) inched closer to clinching a playoff berth for the 13th time since becoming a program in 2009.

The game nearly ended in regulation, but Lincoln-Way West kicker Zach Hermanson was just short on a 52-yard field goal attempt with 20.9 seconds to play. The junior booted a 23-yard field goal on the Warriors’ first overtime possession, but Lockport’s Gavin Monreal answered with a 28-yard field goal of his own to tie it at 32.

In the second overtime, senior Tyler Pospisil (21 carries for 135 yards) plowed in from 2 yards out as the Porters had the ball first and went ahead 39-32. But Hetfleisch kept the ball himself on first down and fought his way into the end zone on a 10-yard TD run. He knew there was no doubt what was coming next.

“We had it planned out,” Hetfleisch said, “We had [his run] drawn up, and we knew it would work. Then we had to go with what was working for us on the 2-point conversion. We had to do it to get this family in [the playoffs].”

The loss set Lockport back.

“That’s what we expected. I called a timeout and said to the team to be ready, they’re going for two,” Lockport coach George Czart said. “We had to stop it, but it was a nice play.

“I told our guys that this team [the Warriors] are just like us. Of course, I’m disappointed. It is frustrating to see how hard we worked to fall just short.”

Lockport (3-5) will need to win at Homewood-Flossmoor and hope it has enough playoff points to be one of the likely few four-win playoff teams.

Brendan Mecher got the Porters on the board with a 25-yard pass to fellow junior Adam Kozak to open the scoring in the first quarter. The extra point was blocked by senior Ryan Stiglic, who had a great game for the Warriors. The Porters extended the lead to when Kozak fired a 54-yard TD pass to Mecher on a flea-flicker to cap a 99-yard drive. The 2-point conversion run was stopped, but with 11:22 left in the second quarter, Lockport led 12-0.

Hetfleisch had a quarterback keeper from a yard out with 10:08 left in the second quarter to get the Warriors on the board and make it 12-7. Then Stiglic recovered a bad snap in the end zone for a TD, and the 2-point conversion was good with 3:31 left in the second quarter. Lincoln-Way West led 15-12 at halftime.

The fireworks continued to open the third quarter. Staglic returned the kickoff 40 yards. Then Hetfleisch hit junior Chase Markowicz with a 47-yard pass on third-and-10. On the next play, junior Jimmy Talley Jr. scored from 2 yards out, and the Warriors led 22-12.

But Kozak came right back and returned the ensuing kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown. It was his third kickoff return for a touchdown this season and made the score 22-19 just 51 seconds into the second half.

Following a bad snap and a recovery by junior free safety Colton Benaitis, Monreal made a 22-yard field goal to tie it at 22.

After an exchange of punts, Hetfleisch had a pair of passes totaling 49 yards and Talley took it in again from a yard out to put Lincoln-Way West back on top at 29-22 with 2:32 left in the third quarter. But senior linebacker John Sherrod recovered a fumble at the Warriors 11 early in the fourth quarter. Then on fourth-and-6, Mecher hit Kozak with a 7-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 29-29 with 8:19 to play in regulation.

It was the first time that Lincoln-Way West had beaten the Porters in the teams’ four meetings.