It hasn’t taken long for offensive coordinator Bill Mitz to rub off on Wauconda head coach Chris Prostka.

During long stays as head coach at Stevenson and Jacobs, Mitz was renowned for taking risks on fourth down that would have most everyone in the stands shaking their heads.

Wauconda gambled a few times in the fourth quarter and made it work to pull off a 25-20 victory over Antioch and clinch the Northern Lake County Conference title on Friday.

With about four minutes left in the game, sitting on the 5-point lead, the host Bulldogs faced fourth-and-three at their own 23-yard line. The offense stayed on the field, and Jackson Rudolph ran for 4 yards to move the sticks.

“We’re not punting, that’s our mentality,” Rudolph said. “We’re not punting no matter what. We know we’re getting it.

Wauconda tried again on fourth-and-10 at its own 40 and fumbled the snap, but that was after running a few minutes off the clock and getting some better field position.

“I know if we lose that game, I’m going to be an idiot for not punting on fourth-and-10,” Prostka said. “But we were into the wind. I took a chance. I thought our defense could keep them out and they did.”

And to be clear, Prostka is the one making those decisions, even though they are a Mitz specialty.

“I’m the head coach,” Prostka said. “He asked me what I wanted to do. I said we’re going for it. We fumbled the snap. Could have happened on a punt too.”

After the turnover, Antioch took over with 2:02 left and on second down, receiver Damion Johnson made an acrobatic catch for a 37-yard gain, setting up first-and-goal at the 4. Logan Lennon ran it into the end zone on the next play, but a holding penalty wiped it out.

After three plays gained 4 yards, a pass from quarterback Ethan Patel to Lennon in the back of the end zone was knocked away by Brody Rudolph to clinch the victory.

“That was a bizarre night. It’s heartbreaking,” said Antioch coach Brian Glashagel. “We had our chances. Two times in short yardage; we had chances to get off the field defensively and I think we had chances for at least two interceptions. We battled really hard. I’m proud of the kids for that.”

Jackson Rudolph rushed for 137 yards on 27 carries, and rarely came off the field. At linebacker, he helped keep an Antioch offense in check that had averaged 56.8 points in five conference games. He also hit the QB on the final fourth-down pass.

“It felt good to win,” Rudolph said. “We’ve been waiting for two years to get this thing done. We just couldn’t keep up with them the last two years, that’s why it’s so emotional this year. It’s good to be able to leave with my brothers and be able to get this done for Wauconda. We needed this.”

Both teams marched down the field on their opening drives, then Antioch took a 14-7 lead on a 52-yard touchdown pass from Patel to Johnson, who finished with 179 receiving yards on 5 catches.

Wauconda then scored twice in the final 3:21 of the first half, missed both extra points, and led 19-14 at intermission. A 21-yard touchdown pass — on fourth down, of course — from Jake Thorstenson to Luke Sickmeier boosted the Bulldogs lead to 25-14 with 8:37 left in the fourth. Another long pass to Johnson set up Patel’s 1-yard sneak to make it 25-20 with 7:27 left.

https://www.dailyherald.com/20251017/prep-football/risks-pay-off-as-wauconda-edges-antioch/