Can these two teams do it again and recreate the magic?
We can only hope.
That had to be the top takeaway for veteran West Aurora fans and this reporter last week from the first round of the high school football playoffs.
One day after posting a 31-21 victory at home Friday over Huntley in Class 8A, the Blackhawks (10-0) learned they would be traveling to Park Ridge this weekend for a second-round matchup against Maine South (7-3), which prevailed 49-42 on Saturday at Naperville North.
Other takeaways?
Your self-proclaimed rankings guru, ahem, had it right for the most part. Our top six teams are all moving on to Round 2.
A matchup for the ages
The last time West Aurora and Maine South met was eight years ago at Ken Zimmerman Field in a wild first-round playoff game on Oct. 28, 2016.
The Hawks prevailed 42-40 in what has to be the most memorable playoff game in program history for the Blackhawks.
Neither offense could be stopped, or so it seemed.
West Aurora, coached by Nate Eimer and led by Beacon-News Co-Players of the Year in twins DaQuan and DaVion Cross, rallied from a 15-point deficit in the second half.
The game ended in controversy, however.
The Blackhawks recovered a fumble with 8:36 left and marched deep into Maine South territory but lost a fumbled exchange between center and quarterback on a play from the 1-yard line.
Maine South was then able to run out the remaining 2:29 on the clock.
The dispute, though, centered on the previous play when West Aurora’s DaVion Cross appeared to score on a 7-yard run for the lead-changing TD.
The closest referee ruled DaVion’s knee hit the ground at the 1 with the ball before he extended it across the goal line.
Watching from the press box, I thought otherwise.
Watching from the sideline with the play in front of him, a Chicago reporter who was with me at last week’s game agrees. So does a local freelance photographer who has a picture he took indicating Cross got in.
Unfortunately, high school football doesn’t have replay.
Fortunately, Eimer handled it with class.
“Life isn’t always fair,” he said.
It isn’t. And there’s also no guarantee that Maine South wouldn’t have scored again in those final two-plus minutes.
It was the closest game for the Hawks on their way to the state title as they beat Barrington 42-27, Lincoln-Way East 34-31, Palatine 28-14 and Loyola 27-17.
A repeat performance on tap?
Could be. Maine South enters Saturday’s 1 p.m. game led by sophomore quarterback Jameson Purcell, who last week completed 37 of 50 passes for 465 yards and six touchdowns.
West Aurora counters with junior quarterback Mason Atkins.
Atkins hasn’t put up gargantuan numbers but hasn’t had to, playing in a boatload of lopsided wins. He has thrown for 1,436 yards and 31 TDs with zero interceptions, however.
Unleashed for a full game, this could be another wild one.
Top teams stay the course
In other first-round highlights, Oswego prevailed 21-7 over Waubonsie Valley. The host Panthers (10-0) will be tested at 6:30 p.m. Friday by York (8-2) and dual-threat quarterback Bruno Massel.
St. Charles North, Geneva and Batavia — three teams that shared the DuKane Conference title — looked the part and prevailed in first-round games by 35, 42 and 41 points, respectively.
St. Charles North (9-1) appears to have drawn the short straw, however. The North Stars have to play at two-time defending Class 7A champ Mount Carmel in the second round at 5 p.m. Saturday.
It is what it is, but this game would be better suited as a state quarterfinal or semifinal.
Also in 7A, Batavia (9-1) travels to Lincoln-Way West (7-3), a team the Bulldogs last played in 2017 on the way to a state title.
Geneva (9-1) is in 6A and rolled past Amundsen. The Vikings draw the smallest school in the class, neighboring Burlington Central (8-2), which beat Grant 42-14 for its first playoff win since 2006.
Burlington Central coach Brian Iossi believes the Rockets can makes some noise in the playoffs, and this could be a better matchup than most observers are expecting.
