Northwest Herald sports roundup for Friday, September 9

Dundee-Crown struggled on offense against Burlington Central, until it mattered the most.

The Chargers put together one crucial drive in the final minutes, which culminated with quarterback Zach Randl hitting wide receiver Kali Freeman with a 35-yard scoring pass with 1:28 remaining.

D-C added the two-point conversion for its second consecutive win, 8-7, over the Rockets Friday in their Fox Valley Conference game at the D-C Bowl in Carpentersville.

“The defense made a big stop and we moved the ball at the end,” Chargers coach Mike Steinhaus said. “We designed something for Kali. When you have an athete like that, he’s going to win (the matchup).”

Randl threw to Freeman again for the two-point conversion. It was Freeman who scored in overtime of the previous game to knock off Hampshire, 36-30.

“We didn’t play well offensively,” Steinhaus said. “But our defense played well and our special teams were good. It’s nice to get picked up by the other groups.

“I just think it shows grit.”

Central (1-2, 1-2) scored in the fourth quarter after D-C was called for running into the kicker on a missed field goal attempt. The Rockets took advantage and scored to go ahead, 7-0.

Crystal Lake South 27, Hampshire 14: At Hampshire, running back Nate Van Witzenburg rushed for 151 yards and three touchdowns as the Gators (2-1, 2-1) defeated the Whip-Purs (0-3, 0-3) in their FVC game.

Van Witzenburg scored on two runs of 30 yards and another of 5. Quarterback Caden Casimino, who was 11 of 14, hit Colton Hess for South’s other touchdown, a 65-yarder.

Casimino threw for 160 yards. Wide receiver Michael Prokos caught six passes for 67 yards and Hess grabbed two for 61.

The Gators’ Dan Zebrowski blocked a punt in the third quarter to set up Van Witzenburg’s 30-yard touchdown.

In the final 5:00, defensive back Brady Schroeder came up with an interception to help seal the game.

Rochelle 60, Johnsburg 35: At Johnsburg, the Hubs (3-0, 1-0) scored on their first possession, recoverd an onside kick and scored again before the Skyhawks (1-2, 0-1) touched the ball in their Kishwaukee River Conference/Interstate 8 Blue Division game.

Quarterback A.J. Bravieri threw for more than 300 yards, with most of the passes going to Jake Metze and Ian Boal.