MSL Football Playoffs: Wednesday Game History
Here is a look at the 58 Wednesday first-round playoff games involving Mid-Suburban League teams from 1974-93. Game details are from the Daily Herald.
Top Ten MSL Wednesday Playoff Victories
1975 - Class 5A - Hersey 27, St. Viator 14
The MSL’s first playoff victory also had the intrigue of a matchup of crosstown Arlington Heights rivals and Hersey head coach Joe Gliwa had previously worked at St. Viator. Hersey won for the second time that season as Scott Topczewski threw TD passes to Wally Hommerding and Dave Koelper and Matt Zakula rushed for 97 yards and a TD.
1976 - Class 5A - Hersey 15, Brother Rice 14
This time Hersey played a Catholic school from Chicago’s South Side and pulled out the win on Bob Schachner’s 33-yard field goal with 4:27 left. Mark Bassie returned a fumble 35 yards for a TD and Dan Vucovich threw a 6-yard TD to Dino Capasso.
1977 - Class 5A - Elk Grove 16, Barrington 13
The matchup of the MSL’s division champions saw Elk Grove avenge a loss to league newcomer Barrington on Dave Sargent’s tiebreaking 20-yard field goal with 19 seconds left. Grens coach Don Schnake, who typically disdained the forward pass, had Ralph Souder throw for 5 first downs on the game-winning drive from their 1. Workhorse Jack Walsh rushed for 109 yards and 2 TDs and blocked an extra point. Barrington QB Bruce Henricksen threw for 229 yards and a TD. The Broncos had reached the semis in 1974 and lost in the first round in 1976 when they were in the North Suburban Conference.
1978 - Class 5A - Buffalo Grove 24, St. Viator 20
The young BG program made its playoff debut as the legendary Grant Blaney coached from the roof of the press box on the stadium that now adorns his name. Blaney had a great view of Craig Groot scrambling around at least 25 yards before firing a 23-yard TD to tight end Chuck Carkhuff for the game-winning TD with 1:13 left as the Bison rallied from 14-0 and 20-10 deficits. Future Illinois standout and NFL defensive tackle Don Thorp helped lead BG all the way to the state finals where it lost 15-9 to St. Rita.
1984 - Class 6A - Buffalo Grove 21, Prospect 14
The MSL division champs met as future Illinois QB Pete Freund’s second 1-yard TD of the fourth quarter with nine seconds left helped BG escape after Prospect coach Joe Gliwa called for a fake punt on fourth-and-2 at its own 27 that came up short with about two minutes left. Prospect was dominating with a 131-41 yard advantage and a 7-0 lead on a 13-yard TD pass by Russ Menczywor when he went out early in the second quarter with a separated shoulder. Backup Rob Savage threw a TD pass to Chris Cutler for a 14-7 lead early in the fourth. BG lost to eventual champion East St. Louis Senior in the semifinals.
1985 - Class 6A - Schaumburg 21, St. Charles 19
Schaumburg coach Bob Ferguson led the MSL’s first playoff team in 1974 and his longtime assistant Tom Cerasani, in his second year as head coach, had to sweat out the school’s first postseason victory 11 years later as a 15-0 lead was wiped out by 19 fourth-quarter points from St. Charles. Future NFL QB Paul Justin, who threw for 232 yards and 2 TDs, provided a happy ending for the Saxons with a 34-yard TD pass to Jeff Dudan. They would get to the quarterfinals and lose to BG.
1989 - Class 6A - Conant 20, Naperville Central 13
A late-season stumble looked like it would lead to an early exit for Conant until Rick Michael threw 2 TD passes in the final 4:37. The first to Vic Pariso cut the deficit to a point and the second to future NIU football/basketball player Vaurice Patterson for 63 yards with 53 seconds left completed the comeback. The Cougars weren’t stopped until they reached the semifinals at powerhouse East St. Louis Sr.
1990 - Class 5A - Rolling Meadows 29, Round Lake 22
Meadows seemed to be in dire straits that included blowing a 14-0 lead and trailing by a point when it got the ball back with 47 seconds left. The Mustangs got their first playoff victory with seven seconds left when Mike Sowka threw a 32-yard TD pass to Mike Lee. Sowka was released from Northwest Community Hospital just hours before kickoff with a stomach virus and Lee, who would have started in his place, had to remove a cast from his hand to play. Pete Duffer also had a 55-yard TD run.
1990 - Class 6A - Conant 42, Palatine 21
Talk about deceptive scores as unbeaten Conant scored 22 points in the final 2½ minutes to avert the upset by 5-4 Palatine in a matchup of former Conant assistants Dave Pendergast and Joe Petricca. Palatine had lost the regular-season meeting 46-7 but led 21-14 when Ed Solis caught a tipped pass from Jeff Hecklinski for a 29-yard TD. Solis caught 8 passes for 201 yards and returned an interception for a TD. Tony Carlson rushed for 208 yards and the third of his 4 TDs from 41 yards erased a 1-point deficit as the Cougars escaped.
1991 - Class 6A - Buffalo Grove 14, Stevenson 12
A battle of local rivals came down to the final play and a 40-yard field goal attempt by Stevenson’s Kevin Kroll into the wind that fell short. BG took a 14-6 lead on a 7-yard TD run by Nick Peradotti and a 36-yard interception return for a TD by Paul Rubin. BG held star RB Joel Dant to a season-low 109 yards on 36 carries although there was some controversy as a potential TD run late in the first half was blown dead by officials. Three-sport standout and current Fremd baseball coach Chris Piggott caught 14 passes for 122 yards for the Patriots.
Other Wednesday MSL Playoff Games
1974
5A East Leyden 14, Schaumburg 8: The first year of the playoffs was a meeting between legendary East Leyden coach Jack Leese and his former player in Ferguson.
1975
5A Glenbard West 16, Schaumburg 13: Standout QB Russ Zonca had a TD run in his final high school game.
1976
5A Elk Grove 20, Elgin 12: Jim Meyer had an 82-yard punt return TD, Tim Roberts ran for 143 yards and a TD and David Champa threw a TD pass to Kevin McCloughan.
1977
5A Holy Cross 7, Fremd 0: Holy Cross avenged a 16-0 loss in the season opener with a TD pass in the third quarter.
5A Deerfield 9, Prospect 0: A bad punt snap gave Deerfield the only points it needed in the third quarter.
1978
5A Freeport 23, Fremd 6: Ron Burke ran for 146 yards and a late TD for Fremd.
5A Forest View 15, West Aurora 9: Tedd Petrick ran wild for 205 yards and 2 TDs as the Falcons would reach the semis and lose in an all-MSL matchup with BG.
1979
5A Deerfield 22, Fremd 0: The Vikings managed just 121 yards of offense.
5A Elk Grove 28, Maine West 6: Local rivals saw Jack Walsh rush 25 times for 147 yards and 3 TDs and Mike Wary throw a 6-yard TD to Jim Souder.
1980
6A Conant 20, Larkin 0: Defense allowed just 151 yards as Dan Pellegrino ran for 108 yards and a TD and Jim Connell had 128 total yards and a TD pass.
6A Buffalo Grove 14, Glenbrook North 0: Dan Humbert rushed for 77 yards and 2 TDs. The second was set up by Steve Fredricksen’s INT.
1981
5A Elk Grove 42, Collins 14: The Chicago Public League school hit 2 big plays for a halftime tie but Tom Napholz (163 yards, 3 TDs) and Paul Kuhlman (108 yards, TD) led the Grens out of danger.
6A New Trier 17, Buffalo Grove 14: BG came in just 5-4 and trailed 14-0 but threw a scare into unbeaten New Trier on Pat Johlie’s 45-yard INT TD and Jim Pecoraro’s TD pass.
1982
6A New Trier 13, Barrington 7: Barrington tied it on Bill Rodgers’ 26-yard TD run with 11:51 left but New Trier answered with an 11-play, 68-yard TD drive.
6A Evanston 21, Conant 7: The Cougars came in 9-0 with 5 straight shutouts but needed a late Ron Furlong to John Schafer TD to avoid getting shutout.
1983
6A Barrington 21, Conant 0: Both teams were 8-1 with losses to end the regular season. Bill Rodgers ran for 217 yards and 3 TDs to start the Broncos on a drive to the semifinals.
1985
5A Forest View 37, Wheeling 14: The Falcons started their school-closing drive to second in the state as Ron Kiolbassa threw for 3 TDs, Dan Bazar rushed for 193 yards and Jack Smith had 2 TDs rushing and an INT.
5A Hersey 25, Collins 12: Tim Hardy rushed for 97 yards and 2 TDs and also had a receiving TD.
6A Buffalo Grove 10, Libertyville 0: Jordy Tessler ran for 82 yards and a TD and BG allowed only 80 yards as Dave Weiner had 2 INTs and a fumble recovery.
6A Elgin 24, Conant 0: Conant was outgained 303-120.
1986
5A Glenbrook South 35, Prospect 10: Future Michigan star and NFL LB Erick Anderson ran for 88 yards and 2 TDs for GBS. Christian Brix rushed for 83 yards for Prospect.
5A Glenbard North 7, Rolling Meadows 0: Fred Lussow came over after Forest View closed to lead Meadows to its first playoff trip. Glenbard North scored early in the 2nd quarter.
6A Buffalo Grove 42, Clemente 8: BG started march to perfect state title with 33-0 lead after one. Chad Dobrei had 2 INTs, Jeff Cook an INT TD and Chris Rudolph 2 TDs rushing.
6A Palatine 22, Conant 6: Palatine upsets 8-1 Conant for first playoff win as John Knox rushed for 3 TDs and Dave Sharkey passed for 141 yards.
1987
6A Libertyville 15, Fremd 14: Libertyville went 80 yards in 38 seconds for winning TD and 2-point pass with 1:15 left. George Poorman threw 2 TDs - one to future NFL LB Jim Schwantz.
6A Zion-Benton 14, Palatine 7: Unbeaten Palatine was stunned by two big-play TDs by the Zee-Bees. Martin Kim ran 4 yards for Palatine’s only TD.
6A Hersey 47, Oak Park-River Forest 22: Hersey led 41-0 at half to start state title drive. Greg Vik and Steve Johnson combined for 210 yards rushing and Jon Guillaume had 2 INT.
6A Lyons 27, Elk Grove 22: Grens started year 0-4 and rallied from 27-8 in final 10 minutes fell just short behind QB Mike McGuire (245 yards, TD) and RB Larry Peddy (182 total yards, 2 TDs).
1988
5A Deerfield 35, Wheeling 14: Wildcats scored first on 12-yard run by QB D.J. Rossini but were outgained 430-186.
6A Libertyville 27, Palatine 26: Palatine rallied from 20-0 down for tie on 2 TDs from Randy Hecklinski to Pat Nelson and John Knox TD run. Knox scored again with 2:40 left but tying PAT kick was ruled wide left.
6A Hoffman Estates 17, Streamwood 6: Unbeaten Hoffman trailed 6-0 but went ahead just before half on Don Wicker’s 2-yard TD run. Keith McSweeney threw for 157 yards.
1989
5A Buffalo Grove 42, Maine South 19: QB Anthony Kuch was 16-for-20 for 253 yards and 4 TDs and BG scored the last 21 points in Grant Blaney’s final playoff victory.
6A Libertyville 10, Barrington 7: Broncos led 7-3 on 48-yard TD run by Ryan Kubacki (102 yards) but were hurt by numerous missed opportunities.
6A Palatine 19, New Trier 7: Randy Hecklinski threw for 213 yards and a TD to Dean Tessitore and Dan Stopka ran for 2 TDs to start the Pirates’ run to the semifinals.
6A Downers North 28, Schaumburg 19: The Saxons won the MSL South at 4-5 and trailed 21-19 when a controversial 4th down spot set up DGN’s clinching score. Tom Cerasani Jr. threw for 199 yards and Ray Hlad rushed for 119.
1990
6A Glenbard North 12, Hoffman Estates 0: An early Hoffman drive stalled at the 2 and Glenbard North countered with a drive to the only TD.
1991
5A Notre Dame 23, Hersey 13: Hersey couldn’t hold a 13-10 halftime lead on Brad Alpert’s 50-yard TD run and Tom Knauss’ TD pass.
6A St. Charles 13, Conant 12: Tony Carlson’s 2 TD runs put Conant up 12-6 at half but a blocked PAT and stopped 2-point play proved costly as St. Charles got its first playoff win.
6A Glenbard North 24, Hoffman Estates 14: Hoffman led 14-12 at half on 2 TD runs by Jason Kent but Glenbard took the lead on a TD set up by a 77-yard kickoff return.
6A Palatine 9, Glenbrook South 8: Palatine QB Taylor Bechtold, subbing for injured Jeff Hecklinski, threw for 151 yards and the go-ahead TD to Derek Hunter with 7:28 left.
1992
5A Palatine 37, Rockford Jefferson 14: Palatine rolled up 485 yards as Jeff Hecklinski threw for 296 with 2 of his 3 TDs to David Saunders.
6A Rockford Boylan 14, Barrington 8: The Broncos avoided the shutout on Patrick Jensen’s TD pass to Spencer Thomas with 2:24 left but couldn’t recover the onside kick.
6A Fremd 21, Hoffman 6: Unbeaten Fremd got its first playoff win as three-sport standout Ketih Lozowski ran for 2 TDs. Jason Kent ran for 105 yards and a TD for Hoffman.
6A Conant 35, Stevenson 14: John Pariso rushed for 203 yards and 3 TDs and Zak Doan passed for 200 as Conant would avenge a loss to Fremd before losing in the quarterfinals.
1993
5A Palatine 28, Rockford Guilford 0: Palatine led 28-0 at half as J.D. Williams ran for 2 TDs and Matt Marzec threw for 203 and a TD to David Saunders. The defense allowed 53 yards.
6A Hoffman Estates 22, Lake Park 6: Brice Taylor ran for 107 yards and 2 TDs as Hoffman ended the 30-year head coaching career of Bob Monken.
6A Stevenson 20, Buffalo Grove 14: BG rallied on TD passes from Brendan Doyle to Scott Boyer and Kyle Garifo in the final 7:01 but its last possession ended at the Patriots 39.
6A Conant 27, York 0: Technically the MSL’s final Wednesday playoff game (7:30 p.m. start) was Conant’s fourth shutout of the season. Pete Bach forced a fumble returned by Jason Ambroson for a TD and Brian Daly had a blocked punt, INT and forced fumble to begin a run to the quarterfinals.
Great work, Marty! Vaurice Patterson was a stud. Ron Kiolbassa is now in administration at Hersey.