Third and 64

There is now only one hurdle left to get to Champaign. But there was a lot of memorable quarterfinal stuff Saturday....

Daily Herald Elgin-area football guru Jerry Fitzpatrick had quite a dramatic day. First he started with Cary-Grove and Crystal Lake South meeting for the eighth time since 2004 in Class 7A. Cary dominated their conference matchup 24-7 but this one was 7-7 headed to overtime.
Caught the webcast of the overtime and it was pretty cool. CL South avenged the earlier loss and now gets a shot at unbeaten Geneva and running man Michael Ratay.
Then Jerry went over to Schaumburg, which looked pretty ho-hum when Bartlett led 35-7 in the third quarter. Was getting the updates out at Barrington - 35-21 with 11 minutes left, 35-28 and Schaumburg had just recovered another onside kick with six minutes left, 35-35 with about 1 1-2 minutes left. Finally, Bartlett wins it on Dan Karys' last-second field goal to thwart what would have been one of the all-time playoff comebacks in state history.
Congrats to Bartlett on continuing its march into uncharted territory. Now comes its toughest test in Maine South, which I watched roll past Barrington. Charlie Goro not only can beat you with his arm but his feet and RB Matt Perez is definitely a difference-maker. The Hawks defense was also impressive in shutting down a potent Barrington offense.
A few Cinderellas continued to avoid midnight - interestingly enough both a bit close to home. Richmond-Burton, only a few minutes from the humble abode, continued its incredible turnaround from a 1-4 start to reach the 4A semis with a 21-0 win at Geneseo. Can the Rockets stop Aurora Christian and record-setting QB Jordan Roberts, who ended Driscoll's amazing run of seven straight state titles?
For the third straight playoff game Immaculate Conception dropped 40-plus on someone and goes to the 2A semis with 4 losses. Mom just retired after 20-plus years from there, my brother and sister went to grade school there and I got married there, so I'm always interested in how the Knights are doing.
And Providence continued to show the strength of the Catholic League schedule as it continued its climb from 2-4 with a 38-0 rout of Rock Island.
Antioch certainly has the OT magic going as it won its second straight in an extra session. Caught the first half on Comcast before I had to leave for Barrington and Cameron White put on a nice show. And St. Francis reversed its only loss by beating Suburban Catholic rival Montini.
Not a bad weekend.