When the Imagine College Prep football team upended Miller Career Academy in double overtime a year ago to secure a Class 3 football playoff berth, some considered it a fluke.
But Saturday, the Bears did it again. Scoring on a 35-yard interception return from senior Brandon McNeal as time ran out, Imagine (5-5) won 22-14 and again kept the Phoenix (6-4) from a spot in the playoffs.
"We've had our ups and downs this year, but we're a good football team. And we proved it Saturday," Imagine coach Ken Walker said.
Walker and assistant head coach Mark Newton started the Imagine program from scratch four years ago as the current seniors were entering the school. In its first year as a varsity program, Imagine beat Soldan and Miller Career last season to make the playoffs before losing to Priory 47-7 in the regionals to finish 5-6.
Saturday at Sumner, the Bears came from behind as McNeal caught a 7-yard touchdown pass from Allen Sales Jr. and Albano Dede booted the conversion to put Imagine on top 15-14 with 2:06 to play.
Still, thanks to the MSHSAA point system, a victory alone would not be enough to get the Bears into the playoffs. They needed to win by at least seven points.
"We thought our season was over,'' Walker said. "I told my cornerback and safeties to play as tight as possible and try to make something happen.''
And that's what McNeal did.
With just 27 players on the roster, the Bears play what they call "iron-man" football.
"Our top athletes rarely leave the field," the coach said.
The Bears travel to Herculaneum to face the 7-3 Black Cats in regional action tonight at 7.
PARKWAY NORTH AILING
Parkway North went into its final district game without its leading rusher, Jaimee Buchanan, who suffered a deep shoulder bruise against Parkway Central.
But then the Vikings suffered a much bigger loss as University of Missouri-bound offensive lineman Anthony Gatti went down with a season-ending knee injury early against Kirkwood on Friday.
Coach Bob Bunton called the 6-foot-6, 285-pound left tackle "the best offensive lineman we've had in Parkway North history" but said his squad will overcome the setback.
"We have some tough-minded kids," Bunton said. "I think our kids will respond and move on."
Buchanan, who has rushed for 1,013 yards and 14 touchdowns, should be available to play in the Vikings' next game on Monday in the Class 5 sectional round, Bunton said.
— Nate Latsch
BROWN BOOSTS WEBSTER
Webster Groves continues to rotate three quarterbacks on a regular basis and the newest of the three, senior transfer Desi Brown, rushed for 97 yards on 14 carries against Vianney two weeks ago and followed that up with 108 yards rushing and two touchdowns on just eight carries against Chaminade on Friday.
"It's been pretty tough coming into a new school with a new system and everything," Brown said. "I'm finally getting the hang of things, the new system and the play-calling."
Despite not playing in the first three games of the season, Brown is second on the team in rushing with 411 yards and is averaging 7.5 yards a carry.
— Nate Latsch
WORKMANLIKE EFFORT
Cahokia football coach Antwyne Golliday wears a construction hard-hat and work gloves on the sidelines to stress his team's "let's go to work," approach. The red, white and blue helmet has Golliday's name across the back.
"It keeps us pretty focused," Golliday said.
The Comanches (9-1), making their 16th overall playoff appearance and their seventh in succession, host Joliet Catholic on Saturday at 2 p.m. in a Class 5A second-round contest.
— Steve Overbey
PARKING DIFFICULTIES
Parking will be at a premium when O'Fallon hosts Lincoln-Way East at 6 p.m. Friday in the second round of the Illinois Class 7A state football playoffs.
Not only will fans have to deal with the usual football traffic, but the Panther Dome is host to an annual craft fair on Saturday and Sunday.
So football fans will have to park in the neighborhood around the school as well as some businesses near the school.
— Ken Roberts
2,000-YARD RUSHERS
The 2,000-yard rushing mark is still a special achievement in high school football. There are three area players who have topped that mark and another one who is poised to do so this weekend.
Wright City junior Trent Davis leads the area with 2,319 rushing yards. Affton senior Markus Golden has 2,154 rushing yards and Chaminade junior Rob Standard, who topped the 2,000-yard mark as a sophomore, has 2,080.
East St. Louis senior Courtney Molton, who suffered a sprained foot in the Flyers' playoff game Saturday, has 1,988 rushing yards.
— Nate Latsch
1,000-YARD RECEIVERS
Miller Career Academy sophomore Devin Buford and John Burroughs junior Grant Wallace are the only area players to top 1,000 receiving yards. Buford has 43 catches for 1,171 yards. Wallace, who had 938 receiving yards as a sophomore, has 51 receptions for 1,115.
There were nine 1,000-yard receivers throughout the area in 2008, led by Vianney record-setter James Gladstone and his 1,481 yards. There were three 1,000-yard receivers in 2007 — all three played at Union — and just two in 2006.
— Nate Latsch
