Stevenson rides momentum into 8A playoffs, beats Sandburg in first round

LINCOLNSHIRE – With a six-game winning streak heading into its Class 8A playoff opener, No. 9-seeded Stevenson was hoping to keep that momentum going Friday night against No. 24-seed Sandburg.

The Patriots (9-1) did just that as they built a 17-point halftime lead before posting a 31-14 victory over the Eagles to advance to the second round where they will visit No. 8 Glenbard East next weekend.

Sandburg (5-5) fell behind 3-0 when Caden An kicked a 30-yard field goal midway through the first quarter after he kicked a 38-yard winning field goal at the final buzzer to beat Lake Zurich last week.

After the Sandburg punter was called for having his knee down, Stevenson took over on the Eagles’ 27-yard line on its next possession. Two plays later, quarterback Aidan Crawley (8 for 10, 178 yards) hit a wide-open Zach Becker for a 22-yard touchdown pass for a quick 10-0 advantage.

The Pats’ offense kept rolling on their next possession as a 33-yard run by Aidan Elliott (110 yards on 20 carries) and a 44-yard reception by Thomas Simmons put the ball on the Eagles’ 8-yard line. Four plays later, Crawley (82 yards on 11 rushes) scored on a 1-yard keeper for a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter.

“(Crawley) is a competitor. I’ve known that kid for a really long time growing up in the community. He’s a leader for us and he makes plays when it counts,” Stevenson coach Brent Becker said. “You get to playoff time and find a way to win and it’s been a little while since we won a playoff game here so that was obviously one of our goals coming into the season.”

Sandburg cut the lead to 17-7 on a 1-yard TD run by Charlie Snoreck late in the third quarter. But Crawley hit speedster Simmons with a 73-yard TD pass on a slant route to boost the lead to 24-7 with 10:56 to play.

The Eagles answered with a 27-yard TD pass from Anthony Shelton (12 for 24, 206 yards) to Lucas Dyra to cut the gap to 24-14 just 55 seconds later. Then an interception by Stevenson’s Abai Atabekov was followed by a 36-yard TD run by Crawley to make the score 31-14 with 7:10 to go.

“It’s all about how you bounce back, especially in these kinds of games. That’s what you’ve got to do to win,” Crawley said. “Originally, it was a pass call, but nothing was there so you’ve got to make a play and resort to my legs, you know.”

Key running back Christopher Thorndyke is expected to be back in Stevenson’s lineup next week.

Sandburg’s Luke Basiorka rushed for 72 yards on 14 attempts. Stevenson’s Zach Hersh threw a 30-yard pass on a trick play during an unsuccessful drive midway through the fourth quarter before Crawley’s 36-yard TD run put the game out of reach on the next possession.