Seneca answers one final challenge in 25-22 win over Iroquois West

GILMAN - There have been so many challenges the athletes and coaches of football teams around the state of Illinois have had to overcome this spring season.

On Saturday at John Boma Field against Iroquois West in the final game of the season, Seneca had one more challenge set before it.

The run-first Fighting Irish trailed the host Raiders by three with 2 minutes, 38 seconds left in the fourth quarter, and were starting with the ball at their own 20. However, a trio of solid first-down runs off the right side of the line by senior running back Ryan McCauley and another by Chase Hauch moved the ball inside IW territory with just over a minute to go.

Then out of a timeout, freshman quarterback Nathan Grant hit senior tight end Nathaniel Finch in stride down the center of the field for the game-winning, 45-yard touchdown pass with 1:08 to go to give Seneca (2-3) an exciting 25-22 victory to finish the season with its second straight win.

“We are a run-heavy offense, we all know that, but whenever I get the opportunity to make a catch I know I just have to make it. That play is designed for me to just run straight down the field, look for the ball, and that’s what I did.”

—  Seneca tight end Nathaniel Finch

“We are a run-heavy offense, we all know that, but whenever I get the opportunity to make a catch I know I just have to make it,” said Finch, who also had a spectacular one-handed catch in the third quarter. “That play is designed for me to just run straight down the field, look for the ball, and that’s what I did.

“Their defense was a little spread out, so right away I knew the play had a good chance. The execution on the play was great, and Nathan put the ball right there for me. After the catch, all I saw was green grass in front of me, and I just started smiling. I knew I was going into the end zone.”

Iroquois West (1-5) grabbed the lead with under a minute to go in the first quarter on sophomore Trystyn Schacht’s 11-yard scoring run that completed a 13-play, 69-yard drive. Damian Melgoza added the extra-point to make it 7-0. Schacht finished with 114 rushing yards on 22 tries.

Seneca answered early in the second period with a 36-yard TD run by Hauch and took an 8-7 lead on McCauley’s run for conversion. The visitors then took an 11-7 halftime lead into the locker room after senior Kolya Cato kicked a 30-yard field goal with two seconds left.

The Irish extended their lead to 19-7 with seven minutes left in the third on a McCauley TD run from the 5 and Zach Pfeifer’s conversion dash.

“I’m just thinking about all we went through this year,” said an emotional McCauley, who finished with 130 yards on 21 carries and recorded an interception on defense. “I came here to Seneca my sophomore year, and these guys just welcomed me with open arms and treated me like family from Day 1. That’s something I’ll never forget.

“You just have to trust things in this offense. We may average two yards per carry five or six times in a row, but that next one could be a big one. When our offensive line gets fired up and blocking with confidence, that’s when those big yardage runs start happening. That’s what happened that final drive.”

IW fought back, as Ty Pankey scored on a 10-yard run on the last play of the third and then hit Sam McMillan on a scoring 15-yard fade route and ensuing two-point conversion to grab a 22-19 advantage with 2:38 to go.

After the Seneca final TD, senior Spencer DeGraaf sealed the triumph by picking off a Pankey pass near midfield with 17 seconds left.

“We normally run power in that situation, it’s not a lot different, it’s just the pulling off the guard. But we went to using our lead (backfield) blocker because of the alignment they were giving us,” said Seneca coach Ted O’Boyle. “We knew at some point we were probably going to have to take a shot downfield, but we want to pick the best time.

“Obviously we picked the right time, because Finch made a heck of a catch. I give a lot of credit to Iroquois West, those kids played their hearts out today, and it was a shame someone had to lose today. Today was a heck of a way to go out.

“We were talking as coaches before the game saying ‘Why wouldn’t it rain today? Why wouldn’t it be overcast skies? Why wouldn’t this game get pushed back to a Saturday?’ So much has been dealt to all these kids this year, throughout the state, and everywhere else. It’s just a credit to our guys that they fought through it, all of it.

“I’m just so happy we were able to send these seniors out with a win.”