Belvidere vs Wauconda

The Belvidere Bucs faced the Wauconda Bulldogs Friday night in the 1st round Class 5A state playoffs. There was plenty of hype all week in regard to this match up. Much of the hype revolved around the fact that the Bucs were considered a strong 7A contender and would be able to potentially dominate the 5A teams. The other point of interest was the fact that the Head Coach for Wauconda was former Chicago Bear Glen Kozlowski. So enough about the hype lets put that all aside and review the game.

The Bucs will be kicking off to the Bulldogs and defending the North goal. #53, Gordon Pace gets the call to start the game. The kick bobbled by the Bulldogs at the 15 yard line but returned to the 26 yard line, 1st and 10. On a 3rd and 1 on the 35 yard line the officials call for a measurement. The Bulldogs were just short and decided to go for the 1st down. The Bulldogs hit the right side of the line and make the 1st down.

At 6:34 the Bucs force a fumble but the Bulldogs recover but are faced with a 2nd and 20. The Bulldogs turn on a passing attack and complete a 27 yard pass to get deep into Buc territory. At 5:23 the Bulldogs are threatening from the 8 yard line. With 4:28 remaining in the 1st quarter the Bulldogs, #34, Brad Wisnniewski takes the ball in 4 yards for the score. The PAT by #20, Keith Wilson, is good and the score is Bulldogs 7, Bucs 0. Wauconda’s first possession of the game ate up over 7 minutes of the quarter.

#5, Tiras Harris, takes the kickoff and returns the ball back to the Buc 27 yard line. #40, Patrick O’Brien gets that call for the 1st carry of the game.  Harris makes a huge gain and is negated by a holding penalty giving the Bucs 2nd and 14. #30, Chris Gust quickly reverses the penalty and gets the Bucs a first down.  The Bucs begin marching down the field. Harris breaks the line and sprints 46 yards for the 1st Buc touchdown. #7, Kyle Tevebaugh’s PAT was no good and the score at 2:57 left in the 1st is Bulldogs 7, Bucs 6. It took 6 plays for the Bucs to get the score.

With 4.2 seconds left in the 1st the Bulldogs complete a 38 yard pass for a touchdown. The PAT was no good so the score at the close of the 1st is Bulldogs 13, Bucs 6. Gust and Harris is back to receive the kickoff.  Gust gets the ball and brings it out for a 1st and 10 on the Buc 35 yard line. The score at the end of 1 quarter of play is Bulldogs 13, Bucs 6.

Harris sprints to the left side of the Bulldog defense and gets knocked out of bounds after gaining 42 yards. This is followed up with a 1 yard touchdown run by O’Brien. Tevebaugh came on to kick the PAT.  The Bucs opened their bag of tricks and faked a PAT Tevebaugh hit Gust in the corner for a 2-point completion. The score was now Bucs 14, Bulldogs 13. The Bulldogs are forced to punt on their next possession, Harris and #10, Nate Culvey back to receive the punt.  The Bulldogs fake a punt and sprint for the sidelines. When the punter was hit the ball pops loose and #34, Phil Czechowicz grabs the ball in the air and sprints 41 yards to the end zone.  Tevebaugh’s PAT is good and the score of the game is Bucs 21, Bulldogs 13.

On the kickoff Gust brings down the Bulldog back on the Buc 33 yard line; a sizeable gain for the Bulldogs. An encroachment penalty gives the Bulldogs a 1st down on the Buc 22 yard line with over 6 minutes on the clock. #21, Jason Hoist, takes the ball in 22 yards for a Wauconda score. The Bulldogs go for 2 but the ball is batted down by #27 Brock Greenhow. The score is Bucs 21, Bulldogs 19.

Tevebaugh scrambles to the left passes back against the grain to #80, George Waddell. A collision ensues and the ball pops into the air. #87, Charles Chatman was there and grabbed the ball and out ran the defense to the end zone. The result was an 80 yard touchdown conversion. The Tevebaugh PAT was good and the score was Bucs 28, Bulldogs 19.

With 2:14 left in the first half of play O’Brien makes his first score of the night and it comes off of a dive left and sprints 53 yards for the score. Tevebaugh’s PAT is no good and the score is Bucs 34, Bulldogs 19.

At 1:19 the Bulldogs score with a 3 yard run Wisniewski the ball carrier. #20, Keith Wilson, attempts the point after and misses making the score Bucs 34, Bulldogs 25.
26 seconds on the clock and the Bulldogs have 3 penalties in 4 plays. Followed up by a holding penalty on the Bucs giving the Bucs 1st and 33 on the 33 yard line. 15 seconds and the Bulldogs get called for a defensive holding penalty. The Bucs have 1st and 8 on the 18 yard line.  Kozlowski has spent more time on the field complaining to the referees than on the side line. In fact, he essentially stopped the game on a couple of occasions screaming about the calls. I was unaware that a coach could go out and confront the referees in that fashion without a penalty being awarded. The buzzer sounds and there is the fifth defensive penalty on the Bulldogs. The Bucs decide to kick a field goal but miss. Coach Kozlowski sprints out on the field and confronts the referees again. How disappointing the behavior of Coach Kozlowski. I would have expected a better example from someone who had a successful career in the National Football Leaque.

Gust and #32, Alex Moore were back to open the 2nd half. The ball was kicked out of bounds and the Bucs take over 1st and 10 on their own 35 yard line.  The drive ends at 8:57 when O’Brien takes the ball 25 yards for a score. Tevebaugh’s PAT was blocked and the score following the Bucs possession is Bucs 40, Bulldogs 25.

The first possession of the 2nd half for the Bulldogs end with turning the ball over on downs to the Bucs. The Bucs get 1st and 10 on their own 41 yard line.

At 1:46 left in the 3rd #19, Josh Easley, catches a Bulldog punt on the Bulldog 45 yard line. The Bucs begin their march to the end zone. The Bucs hit the end zone off of a 16 yard pass from Tevebaugh to Gust. Tevebaugh’s PAT is no good and the score is now Bucs 46, Bulldogs 25, :52.8 seconds remain in the 3rd.

10:15 the Bucs take over on downs on their own 10 yard line. The Bucs started to eat the clock in the 4th quarter but end up turning the ball over on downs with 5:16 remaining in the game. The Bulldogs 1st and 10 on the 43 yard line. The Bulldogs were unable to move the ball and turn the ball over on downs to the Bucs on their own 39 yard line. With 2:20 left in the game Tevebaugh scores a 57 yard touchdown run off the left hand side. Tevebaugh’s PAT is good and the score is Bucs 53, Bulldogs 25. With :24.3 remaining #10, Nate Culvey intercepts a Bulldog pass and returns the ball 68 yards to the Bulldog 5 yard line. This would be the final score of the game.

The Bucs played a very solid game against the Wauconda Bulldogs and will advance to the next round in the playoffs. More than likely the Bucs will face the Chicago Robeson team that is 8-1 for the season. This will be a challenge for the Bucs but they are up to it. Congratulations on your playoff win.