Woodstock North’s Braelan Creighton plays hero in crosstown win over Woodstock

WOODSTOCK – The last time Woodstock North backup quarterback Braelan Creighton scored a touchdown was in youth football.

“I have been the third-string quarterback this year, getting little reps at practice, and while I thought I was ready, I didn’t think I was going to be out here in this situation tonight,” Creighton said.

After starting quarterback Parker Halihan exited the game in the third quarter, Creighton looked confident and comfortable leading the Thunder offense when the opportunity presented itself.

His 12-yard touchdown run with 31 seconds left propelled Woodstock North (7-2, 5-2) to an intense 8-7 victory over crosstown rival Woodstock in their Kishwaukee River Conference game.

While Creighton’s run put six points on the board for the Thunder, it was the 2-point conversion that sealed the win. Running back David Randecker took the handoff and powered his way into the end zone for the two points that turned out to be the difference.

“The 2-point conversion was something new, we practiced it all week, so I’m glad we had that in,” Woodstock North head coach Matt Polnow said.

For most of the game, Woodstock (3-6, 2-5) controlled the clock and the scoreboard. On offense, the Blue Streaks had a 14-play drive to end the first half, resulting in a 5-yard touchdown pass from Caden Thompson to Charlie Walrod, giving the Streaks a 7-0 halftime lead.

The Woodstock defense also stepped up, keeping the Thunder offense in check. Jared Kay had an interception in the end zone, and Stewart Reuter had three pass deflections, one coming on a fourth down that helped keep Thunder off the scoreboard. Senior defensive linemen Everett Flannery and Edgard Arana played a part in bottling up the Thunder ground game, each collecting six tackles on the night.

“It was a heck of a game, rivalry games usually are, and I told our kids that life will kick you down sometimes, even when you do everything right and you just have to fight through it. I am really proud of how they played tonight and how they prepared this week,” Woodstock head coach Mike Brasile said.

Reuter led the Streaks in rushing with 102 yards on 17 carries with Landen Stoltz running for 90 yards on 20 carries.

For the Thunder, though, the last drive of the game was a testament to their persistence. North marched 69 yards in just under four minutes, mixing the run and the pass. Randecker had several drive-sustaining runs to set up Creighton’s touchdown.

“A big thank you to all of the linemen, we were in the same situation last week, needing to make a big play, and we focused on that all week, finishing the game and we were able to execute tonight,” Randecker said.

The junior had 20 carries for 96 yards. Running back Max Dennison added 52 yards on five carries while Creighton had 26 yards on four carries.

“The adversity we had tonight, players stepping up, the players had poise and we had been executing and executing until we got in the red zone and Woodstock really stepped up but dang, it was nice to get one in there at the end,” Polnow said.