The standing-room audience at Ray Porten Field at Wauconda High School was treated to a back-and-forth Class 5A first-round bout between the host Northern Lake County Conference champion and undefeated No. 3 seed Bulldogs and a battle-tested No. 14 St. Patrick on Saturday afternoon.

With a 21-point second period that gave them control of the contest, the visiting Shamrocks held off the host school’s comeback attempt to prevail 49-28.

St. Pat’s (6-4) will play No. 6 seed Cary-Grove (8-2), a 42-14 home winner over Sycamore (5-5) on Saturday, in the second round at Triton College in River Grove.

“Wauconda was a tough team. We knew they had no quit in them whatsoever, 9-0. (Fortunately), our boys showed up and played well,” said first-year St. Patrick coach Tom Zbikowski, the former Buffalo Grove High and Notre Dame standout who played four of his five NFL seasons at safety for the Baltimore Ravens.

With the game knotted at 14, the Shamrocks took advantage of good field position and gave the ball to junior Jayden Miranda. He then carried four straight times with the last one finding paydirt that put St. Pat’s ahead to stay 21-14 with 8:18 left until halftime.

Then, a pair of TD tosses by QB Gavin Gardiner (21-30-276 yards) to Joey Pemberton (28 yards) and his second of the day to Timmy Schayer (25 yards) expanded the visitor’s lead to 35-14 with 1:46 left until the break. Schayer ended up with 191 yards on 13 receptions.

The Bulldogs (9-1) began their comeback on a 1-yard Cole Korycanek TD run with just 9 ticks left before halftime that brought them within 35-21.

His senior backfield mate Jackson Rudolph cut the deficit in half to 35-28 on a 1-yard run of his own with 5:37 left in the third.

Then on Wauconda’s next possession, disaster struck when an errant punt snap went over Korycanek’s head before he was able to secure it where he was brought down at the Bulldogs 12.

After a 10-yard holding call, Anthony Catron (29 carries, 145 yards) took it in from the 17 two plays later for a 42-28 advantage just 43 seconds into the fourth.

It was there that the Shamrocks defense closed the door on Wauconda’s season with a trio of picks from safeties Nana Achumpong and Thomas White. Those were sandwiched around a pass block of a Jake Thorstenson attempt by defensive linemen Kevin Michealsen that he ended up with and took it back 25 yards for the game’s final points with 4:37 remaining.

Both Thorstenson (14-31-288 yards, 2 TD passes) and Bulldogs coach Chris Prostka praised the 24-member senior class, which includes the Wauconda QB.

“From feeder to freshman year to now we have such a special connection,” Thorstenson said. “That’s how we’ve always been. The hardest workers who never quit, who never stop. That’s our rule.”

“I thanked them for the things they’ve done,” Prostka said. “They bought into what we tried to do. We wanted more and they wanted more. Today’s a hard day for them and as I told them that one game doesn’t define what this (season) was.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20251101/prep-football/big-second-quarter-sends-st-patrick-past-wauconda-in-5a-playoffs/