Nate Kraus, Yorkville keep calm, rally in final minute to reverse outcome with Plainfield Central

PLAINFIELD – Nate Kraus corralled the high snap, didn’t pause or panic and did what he did all game Friday night, Oct. 29.

He made a play in a tough spot.

Kraus, Yorkville’s senior quarterback, took in a 4-yard touchdown run with 51 seconds left on an errant snap that nearly went off his running back’s helmet.

It capped a go-ahead drive in the final three minutes, one of two second-half scoring drives Kraus directed as the 25th-seeded Foxes rallied to win a 26-22 thriller over eighth-seeded Plainfield Central in a Class 7A first-round game.

“The one bad snap all game and he didn’t know it until the sideline,” Kraus said. “It hit [Daejeion] Lewis’ helmet almost ... side of my hands, popped up, caught it, ran through the hole and scored.”

Kraus, who threw for all 83 of his yards in the second half on 9-for-16 passing and also ran for 136 yards, and the Foxes seemed to make plays when they needed them most.

He was 4 for 6 for 44 yards on the final drive that started with Ben Alvarez’s interception at the Yorkville 38 with 3:34 left. But Kraus’ biggest play was with his feet, a 19-yard keeper after the Foxes were backed up to first-and-21 at their 39.

Three plays later, Lewis converted a fourth-and-3, keeping the drive alive.

“It’s a little scary, we didn’t know what would happen, but the seniors didn’t want to go home,” Kraus said. “I knew that I just had to stay calm, I knew in the back of my head that the whole game relied on that drive. I had faith in my line, D. Lewis, that my defense would stop them and we would make something happen.”

Yorkville (6-4), which reversed the outcome of a Week 2 loss to Plainfield Central (8-2), advanced to the second round of the playoffs for the third straight time, where it will host Brother Rice at 4 p.m. Saturday.

Plainfield Central, in its first playoff game since 2012 and seeking its first postseason win since 2000 as Plainfield High School, led, 14-13, at halftime on the strength of two Aaron Larkins touchdown runs.

But Larkins, who had 128 yards on 21 carries at halftime, had only eight touches in the second half, and Plainfield Central ran only 15 plays as Yorkville controlled possession.

The Foxes went ahead 19-14 with an 18-play, 82-yard drive that consumed more than 10 minutes with seven first downs, culminating with Lewis’ 13-yard TD run with 11:36 left.

“We pride ourselves on getting big stops when we need them,” Plainfield Central coach Robert Keane said. “Credit Yorkville for getting first down after first down.”

Indeed, Yorkville converted two fourth downs on short Lewis and Kraus runs, and Kraus connected with Lewis for 10 yards on a third-and-9 to keep a drive alive that accounted for all but three plays of the third quarter – and kept Larkins off the field.

“That’s what we needed to do, and our gameplan going in, was to get him off the field. That’s what’s allowed us to be successful the last two weeks, is our ability to control the clock,” Yorkville coach Dan McGuire said. “Give our kids credit – it seemed like whatever we called, worked. We had to reach in the tool chest and try some things. We made plays when we had to.”

Plainfield Central, however, seemed to erase all the momentum Yorkville gained with its long drive in the blink of an eye. Derek McClinon’s 95-yard return TD on the ensuing kickoff to made it 22-19 with 11:19 left.

[ Photos: Yorkville vs. Plainfield Central ]

But Yorkville’s defense got the stop it needed to, setting the stage for the final scoring drive.

“That was a little bit of adversity, but we kept our heads up,” said Lewis, who ran for 53 yards on 17 carries.

Yorkville scored first, Kraus taking a keeper 80 yards up the gut for a TD with 6:45 left in the first quarter. Larkins’ 40-yard run led to his 1-yard score, but Yorkville went back ahead 13-7 on Andrew Laurich’s 38-yard interception return for a TD with 10:13 left in the half.

Larkins’ 2-yard TD run with 4:05 left in the second quarter made it 14-13, where it remained until the final quarter.

In defeat, Plainfield Central could reflect on quite a turnaround season. The Wildcats won the Southwest Prairie East title with their most wins since 2008 after going 1-8 in 2019 in its last nine-game season.

“This is a really special group of kids that I am incredibly blessed to be a part of their lives for four years,” Keane said. “We have about 30 seniors, and they accomplished things that a lot of people wanted to do and they found a way to do it. Incredibly proud of them regardless of tonight’s outcome.”