Richmond-Burton holds off Phillips, will play in semifinals for 3rd straight season

CHICAGO — With all that was at stake in their Class 4A quarterfinal contest, it would only seem right that Richmond-Burton and Phillips each got the best of each other.

It was also only right that their battle Saturday afternoon would come down to the slimmest of margins as R-B edged out Phillips, 27-26, to advance to the state semifinals for the third consecutive fall season.

“We believe in our process, we believe if we win each day we can go 1-0 each week,” R-B coach Mike Noll said. “We work really hard and we expect our kids to work hard. It’s served us well.”

The Rockets will play Joliet Catholic next weekend for a chance to play in the state championship at NIU’s Huskie Stadium in DeKalb.

R-B’s standout 31-game win streak was extended to 32 with this win and early on that happening didn’t seem to be much in question. The Rockets were fueled to go immediately, jumping out to a 14-0 lead. First came a 44-yard touchdown reception by running back Landon Jacoby off a smoothly executed play-action pass by quarterback Joe Miller.

Making the play-action work was the firmly established reputation of the Rockets’ run attack, highlighted by Jacoby as well as powerful backs Steven Siegel and Brock Wood, who began putting in work himself with a 5-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter.

“I couldn’t thank my O-line enough, I’m buying them something – if it’s food tomorrow, something,” said Wood, giving credit where he felt it was due. “It took a team effort. We knew (Phillips) would be a very physical, fast, athletic team.”

But almost as soon as R-B built its lead, it lost that lead to Phillips’ determined bunch, which outscored R-B 20-14 in the second quarter. Receiver Avante Savage scored on two receptions in the second, the first on a deep bomb from quarterback Tyler Turner that Savage extended 84 yards into the end zone.

“I thought we had it in the bag, but I knew it wasn’t over,” Savage said. “You can see the look in (R-B’s) eyes, they weren’t laying down for nothing.”

Savage’s second score, from 13 yards out, came in direct response to Wood’s second rushing touchdown. The exchanging of scores led to a slight Rockets halftime lead at 21-20. While Phillips was keeping itself in the game it missed two-point conversions on two of its scores and coach Joe Winslow felt those missed opportunities.

“Two point conversions is what lost the game – I missed three,” Winslow said. “I don’t blame the kids for my loss. It was my mistake, my call. We get one, it’s 28-27.”

Still, Phillips took the lead in the third quarter (26-21) with a sequence that started from a Jahon Walker interception. The Wildcats used the rare R-B turnover and a short field on two sets of downs, topped off by a 3-yard run by junior Desean Hill for score, his second of the game.

In the final quarter, after a couple quick-moving quarters nearly took the game away from the Rockets, they slowed things down once more with Wood becoming the focal point, taking handoff after handoff to lead the drive that produced the deciding score. Many of the runs came with small bunches of yards but Wood ate up 14 on a third-and-2 opportunity, taking the ball to Phillips’ 20 yard line.

On fourth-and-3 from Phillips’ 13, Jacoby managed a reception in the flat that got the ball to the nine yard line and the drive was capped with Wood showing his hands on a seven yard touchdown reception.

“We know what we’re good at, we know that we’re a low, physical team, we know that we’ll be able to run the ball against anyone,” Wood said.

With just over 4 and a half minutes left, Phillips’ final drive of the season started at R-B’s 48 after a failed onside kick. The Wildcats got the ball up to R-B’s 10-yard line with 1:16 left on the clock – a delay of game pushed the ball back to the 15, but still the table looked set for Phillips heroics. Instead, the very busy Jacoby ended things with an interception at the goal line off an errant Turner pass.

The ball was downed in the end zone with 67 seconds left and the yells from R-B’s sideline and visitors section could be heard from the South Side of Chicago up to their homes near the Wisconsin border, where R-B will celebrate and gear up for its next 4A semifinal.

“It was a hard-fought game and we made a play at the end that won the ball game for us,” Noll said. “(Jacoby’s) been doing it for us all year.”