Antonio Rodriguez’s TD with 33 seconds left lifts L-P over Woodstock North

WOODSTOCK – The final eight-plus minutes of Friday’s Kishwaukee River/Interstate 8 White Division opener between La Salle-Peru and Woodstock North provided tons of drama.

But it was Cavaliers senior running back Antionio Rodriguez’s 7-yard touchdown run with 33 seconds remaining in the game that wound up being the difference.

It was his second TD of the night, propelling L-P to a dramatic 21-13 road victory – one in which the Thunder gave the Cavaliers help down the stretch via costly mistakes.

Just a minute befoe the game-winning score, the Thunder muffed a punt at their own 23, setting up L-P’s final drive, which broke a 13-13 tie.

The Thunder even had a chance to take the lead with 2:48 to go thanks to Kaden Combs’ 3-yard TD run.

But the extra point went wide left.

The Cavaliers (2-1, 1-0 KR/I8 White) took advantage of seemingly every chance they got down the stretch.

”We really gutted this win out,” Rodriguez said. “And we were fortunate to be set up with good field position there at the end.”

Another huge opportunity presented itself earlier in the fourth.

With 8:35 remaining and the game tied 7-7, the Cavaliers elected to go for it on fourth-and-goal from the Thunder 5.

The play was designed to be a a rollout pass to the right by Cavaliers quarterback Brendan Boudreau.

“I wanted to throw, but their safety was creeping way too close to my intended target,” Boudreau said.

Instead, he tucked the ball in, ran, then dove at the right pylon in a desperation attempt to score.

Boudreau’s outstretched arms barely inched the ball across the goal line a split second before his knees hit the ground, giving L-P a 13-7 advantage.

”Just tremendous athleticism by Brendan on that play,” L-P coach Jose Medina said. “The play broke down and he made something big happen.”

The Thunder defense was outstanding until late in the game. It only allowed two gains of more than 10 yards in until the final nine minutes.

North (1-2, 1-1) also faked a punt on fourth down at its own 23 during the final 30 seconds of the third quarter. But the ensuing pass fell incomplete, setting up L-P with tremendous field position, which led to Boudreau’s TD run.

After the game, Thunder coach Matt Polnow noted that four of the nine TDs his team has allowed this season have come on fourth downs.

To its credit, the Thunder did force a turnover on downs on fourth-and-goal from the 3 during the Cavaliers’ opening drive of the game.

“There are so many critical moments in a game you can look back on and say it was a turning point,” Polnow said. “But to single out any specific one ... it just comes down to execution.

“If we executed plays more frequently throughout the course of the game, there wouldn’t be as big a spotlight on our mistakes later In the game. When we watch film of this one, we’ll do our best to learn from what we did wrong and move forward as a team.”