Nick Browder didn’t call the play that gave the Waukegan football team its first lead against Deerfield.
The Bulldogs’ coach had fun watching it, though.
Sophomore quarterback Melvin BoBo IV rushed for a touchdown, junior Deniqtrius Curry added another, and Waukegan edged Deerfield 14-7 Friday night. The Bulldogs grabbed the lead for good early in the third quarter, converting a 2-point conversion on a busted play to make it 8-7.
“It was not called,” Browder said of the surprise conversion attempt. “We were trying to kick it through, and the snap was a little high.
“These jokers are going to give me a heart attack before it’s all said and done. It’s fun though.”
After BoBo IV rushed in from 2 yards out on Waukegan’s first drive of the third quarter, the Bulldogs were simply trying to tie the game at 7-7.
But the extra-point snap sailed high on senior holder Nick Moreano, who corralled the ball and immediately rolled to his left. Junior Milton Shannon recognized the play and released with him, leaping to catch Moreano’s lob pass over two Deerfield defenders in the corner of the end zone.
Waukegan (2-2) never trailed again, adding insurance on Curry’s 5-yard touchdown run with 1:04 to play.
“In practice, if it’s a bad snap we practice (Moreano) rolling out and throwing a pass,” BoBo IV said. “Shannon noticed it.
“It was a great play.”
Deerfield (1-3) took a 7-0 lead in the second quarter on a rushing touchdown by senior Jacob Balder.
But the Warriors suffered through a mistake-plagued second half that included a fumble by senior Brett Freedberg inside the Waukegan 10-yard line and two encroachment penalties that extended the Bulldogs’ final drive.
Deerfield’s desperate comeback attempt ended when junior quarterback Ben Ethridge was sacked as time expired.
“We lost the game. It’s as simple as that,” Deerfield coach Steve Winiecki said. “That was a loss by everyone, starting with me.”
