When No. 2-ranked St. Pius defeated No. 9 North Oconee 28-23 Friday night, it was quite a high school football game.
But it was an even better matchup of former college teammates as the Golden Lions built a big lead and had to hang on desperately.
North Oconee coach Terry Tuley played quarterback at Eastern Illinois in the late 1960s and early ’70s, when St. Pius defensive coordinator Jerry Stewart blocked for him as a guard.
Late in the game at North Oconee, the ol’ quarterback had the ol’ guard and his defenders on the run.
St. Pius junior quarterback Joey Connors ran for a score and passed for 139 yards and two touchdowns to Jack Pelt as the Golden Lions (2-0) built a 28-10 lead late in the third quarter.
But the visitors barely won, as Tuley started spreading his receivers out and rolling out quarterback Tate Adcock. Only when St. Pius stopped the Titans (0-1) on a goal-line stand in the final minute were the Lions assured of the victory.
Adcock, a junior, completed 21-of-29 passes for 197 yards, and junior running back Kawon Bryant rushed for 162 yards and three scores. The Titans, though, fell just short of an amazing comeback when Adcock’s last pass — a screen to Bryant on fourth-and-goal from the 7 — ended with Bryant stuffed for a short gain.
Connors completed all three of his first-half passes, for 126 yards and a 79-yard scoring strike to Pelt, and Adcock completed 9 of 10 for 85 yards.
His only misfire came when Pelt intercepted a ball in the end zone late in the half.
The Titans drove 65 yards in six plays to the St. Pius 18, but when Adcock threw to the end zone Pelt intercepted and brought it out to the 6.
From there, a 36-yard run by Daniel Crochet and a 26-yard pass fueled a scoring drive than ended with a 23-yard sweep by senior wingback Branden Mitchell.
North Oconee pulled to within 21-10 just before halftime when Bryant broke multiple tackles on his way down the left sideline for a 43-yard touchdown with 1:57 left in the half.
The Golden Lions jammed Bryant on fourth-and-2 in the middle of the third quarter, and took over at their own 43.
Again, Connors and Pelt hooked for a payoff.
The junior quarterback was under pressure while rolling right on third-and-12 when he dumped a short pass just a few years ahead to Pelt. He gathered, planted hard, and cut back across the grain and dove just inside the pylon to complete a 13-yard scoring play on which he may have run 40 yards.
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