8A Football: Oswego knocks off No. 2 Huntley, 17-14

HUNTLEY – Oswego senior Conor Morton spent some time in the Dean’s office this week.

Head coach and Oswego Dean of Students Brian Cooney called Morton in for a talk, and presented a challenge to his wide receiver before Saturday’s game against No. 2 seed and undefeated Huntley. Morton responded, hauling in two touchdown passes from quarterback Steven Frank to help Oswego to a 17-14 upset win on the road.

No. 15 Oswego (9-1) will host No. 23 Marist (7-4) in the quarterfinal game after the RedHawks knocked off No. 7 Barrington 59-56 on Saturday night. The Panthers make their second quarterfinal appearance in three seasons, falling to Marist in the 2013 8A quarterfinals.

"That talk we had was one of the biggest changing points of my life," Morton said. "He knew what I was capable of before I knew. He told me "I know you can do this; I know you can step it up another level. I want to see it.' I just took that to heart."

Huntley (10-1) changed its game plan after trailing Oswego 3-0 at halftime and put the ball in the hands of running back Eric Mooney, who tallied 188 of his 192 yards after halftime and scored both TDs for the Red Raiders to create a 17-12 game early in the fourth quarter.

On fourth-and-goal from the Oswego 9, Huntley quarterback Anthony Binetti spotted Moody deep in the end zone, but an incomplete pass turned the ball over to Oswego with 1:03 to play and all but sealed the Panthers' win.

Oswego could not produce the first down to maintain possession until the final horn, and opted to give Huntley a safety and kicked the ball back to the Red Raiders with 44 seconds to play. Mooney returned the kickoff to the Huntley 38, but Oswego senior defensive back Dylan Bielawski intercepted Binetti's pass to end the game.

"When I saw the ball up there, I knew I had to make a play," Bielawski said. "You've got to stay disciplined as a DB because you can't fall asleep. Just had to stay on top of it and get the pick."

Huntley's offense struggled to stay on the field in the first half of play, with Oswego dominating the time of possession at 16:32. That eventually led to a 20-yard field goal by Oswego's Brice Robinson with 10 seconds remaining in the second quarter to give the visitors a 3-0 halftime lead.

"They can't score if their offense isn't on the field," Oswego head coach Brian Cooney said. "We just had to chew the clock. Even the ones that didn't produce points, as long as we're moving and playing that field position game, that's what the playoffs are about."

Mooney's first touchdown came on the second play after intermission and gave Huntley a 6-3 lead after a failed kick, but Oswego answered with a 14-play, 72-yard drive. Steven Frank threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Conor Morton and the Panthers regained a 10-6 lead with 5:22 to play in the third.

Oswego was in the end zone minutes later with another Frank to Morton completion, this time for the 45-yard touchdown to give Oswego a 17-6 lead heading into the final quarter.

"It's a great feeling. I had no doubt coming into the game that we would have a tough game," Morton said. "We've been putting a lot of work in since August and it's finally clicking. ... We came in very confident. We wanted to prove everyone wrong. We didn't hear our name anywhere."

Mooney's 19-yard run set up Huntley in Oswego territory – and this time Mooney ran in from the 32-yard line for a 17-12 score after a failed two-point conversion to set up a wild final five minutes of regulation. Huntley drove down to the Oswego 3, but Nick Jackson stopped Binetti on a quarterback keeper for a loss, and a false start penalty pushed the Red Raiders back to the 9 before the fourth down incompletion.

"We had some opportunities. We played through some horrendous calls by the officials. ... We had an opportunity to make some plays down on the goal line and we fell down and dropped a touchdown pass that would have won the game for us," Huntley head coach John Hart said.

Binetti finished 8-of-17 for 96 yards and one interception. Mooney finished with 19 carries for 192 yards – with 188 of those coming in the second half.

"This team is more balanced than we've played. They're good in all phases," Cooney said. "They came out (in the second half) and made a huge adjustment, and to tell you the truth we still haven't stopped it. The power play off the edge was a great play by them."

Frank finished 18-for-23 passing for 184 yards and two TDs and had 10 carries for 24 yards. Morton had four catches for 84 yards – nearly half of his total yards in the regular season.