JOHNSBURG – Unbeaten Richmond-Burton held off upset-minded Johnsburg in a 23-20 Kishwaukee River/Interstate 8 Blue win Friday night.
For R-B, the win marked its state-best 27th consecutive victory. The Rockets are three wins away from matching Prairie Ridge (2016-2018) for the area’s longest win streak in the playoff era.
But No. 27 did not come easily.
Trailing 23-13 late in the fourth quarter, the Skyhawks marched down the field on an 11-play drive that was capped by a 17-yard scoring strike from Luke Conroy to Ian Boal. Unfortunately for Johnsburg, the drive ate more than three minutes off the clock, and the Skyhawks trailed 23-20 with just 24 seconds left. The subsequent onside kick was touched by a Skyhawk player before traveling 10 yards. The Rockets ended the game in victory formation.
After the game, Richmond Burton coach Mike Noll was in no mood to discuss winning streaks.
“Right now, that (the streak) is not what I’m thinking about,” Noll said. “We talked all week about how Johnsburg was going to give us their best game. We just have to play better.”
The Rockets were led by standout fullback Brock Wood. The senior rolled for 136 rushing yards on 14 carries (9.7 avg.) and scored all three of R-B’s touchdowns. Running back Steven Siegel added 66 yards on seven carries (9.4), including a 54-yarder in the second quarter that set up the second of Wood’s three TDs.
R-B’s vaunted defense came into the game having allowed just 47 points all season, but the Skyhawks were seemingly unimpressed. Starting at its own 28 after the opening kickoff, Johnsburg drove 72 yards on 14 plays, scoring on a 5-yard Conroy to Boal connection, and taking a 7-0 lead.
It took R-B just two plays to respond. A 48-yard touchdown run from Woods and a missed extra point narrowed Johnsburg’s lead to 7-6. The Skyhawks’ third drive lasted 14 plays and ended with a 32-yard Nicholas LoPresti field goal that extended the lead to 10-6. The Rockets again responded, this time with an eight-play 80-yard drive capped by an 8-yard run from Woods.
In the first half, the Skyhawks ran 39 plays from scrimmage and managed 10 first downs compared to just 17 plays and four first downs for R-B, but the Rockets held a 13-10 lead at the break.
Johnsburg coach Sam Lesniak was disappointed with the loss, but was proud of his team’s effort.
“We had a puncher’s chance, and that was our mantra this week,” Lesniak said. “We went toe to toe with them, but, unfortunately, they made a couple more plays than we did.”
Conroy had a solid effort to lead the Skyhawks. He completed 24-of-34 passes for 249 yards, two TDs and no interceptions, and earned praise from his coach.
“(Conroy) made a ton of really good decisions, and there were some nice catches,” Lesniak said. “We had a nice game offensively.”
The Rockets biggest lead of the evening was 10. Nicolas Falasca returned the second half kickoff 66 yards and set up Woods’ third score that extended R-B’s lead to 20-10.
R-B is now 7-0 and 4-0 in the Blue Division. The Rockets will face Harvard at home next Friday. The Skyhawks fell to 1-6 overall and 1-4 in conference play and will travel to Woodstock North next week.