Durand-Pecatonica head coach Kyle DeMus waited for just the right moment Saturday night to call the play that would break Johnsburg’s heart.

The play – a 12-yard pass from quarterback Lukas Rossow to receiver Brady Moore - was the lone downfield pass thrown by the Rivermen all night. The resulting touchdown with 59.5 seconds to play was the difference in DuPec’s thrilling 18-13 Class 3A playoff victory over the host Skyhawks.

The victory vaults the Rivermen (7-3) into the quarterfinals where they will host undefeated Byron (10-0) next weekend.

Johnsburg finishes 7-3.

“Everything about the play had the exact same look across the front as the previous five running plays,” DeMus said. “It was time.”

Rossow only threw 10 passes all night, completing six of them for 66 yards, but it was the DuPec ground game powered by powerful fullback Dermot Dolan (21 carries, 114 yards, TD) and Rossow (19 for 83, TD) that did the bulk of the damage. DuPec rushed 42 times for 213 yards.

“We knew they were tough, and they had a (size) advantage up front,” Johnsburg coach Sam Lesniak said. “That 33 (Dolan) and 27 (Rossow) were tough. They ran hard and always fell forward for extra yardage.”

DuPec took the opening kickoff 65 yards on 13 plays to open a 6-0 lead, an advantage it carried into halftime. Johnsburg got on the board late in the third quarter on a perfect post pattern pass from Carter Block (13 for 20, 220 yards, 2 TDs) to Jack Thompson. However, Dolan countered for the Rivermen on the first play of the fourth quarter with a 44-yard run around right end to give DuPec a 12-7 lead.

The Skyhawks reclaimed the lead with 3:58 to play on a 48-yard pass from Block to Ryan Franze to make it 13-12. DuPec took the ensuing kickoff and marched to the Hawks 12, where Rossow found Moore in the back of the end zone.

Johnsburg tried responding in the game’s final minute, but Cooper Hamilton’s interception with six seconds to play sealed the verdict. DuPec’s Tyler Tunak also had a pick.

The victory sets up a rematch between DuPec and Byron. The teams played in Week 6, with Byron posting a 42-14 victory. DuPec won its first five games before losing three of its final four. Those losses, however, were to Bryon, Stockton and Lena-Winslow – all playoff teams with a current combined record of 29-1.

“We were leading that game at halftime, and even though they ended up winning, that game gave us the confidence that we could play with Byron,” the Rivermen coach said. “If we can repeat for an entire game what we did in that first half, it’ll be a game.

“It’s going to be a fun week of practice.”

Johnsburg, on the other hand, saw its season and four-game winning streak come to an end, but the team’s all-out effort was what Lesniak praised after the game.

“This is a special, special group. Great kids. There was absolutely no quit in this team,” the coach said. “They handled every bit of adversity that came their way tonight. They fully expected to take the ball on that last drive and win the game. There was no panic mode.”

Hard-running Duke Mays led the Johnsburg rushing attack with 80 yards on 17 carries and caught four passes for 41 yards. Franze led all receivers with five catches for 126 yards.