Minooka Football holds off Neuqua Valley on the final drive

It’s senior night for Neuqua Valley football as the Wildcats get set for their home opener against Minooka.  Neuqua comes in off a win over Waubonsie, while the Indians enter after a narrow defeat to St. Charles North.  Last year’s matchup saw Minooka pull off a last-second 16-14 win over NV on a regulation-ending field goal.  This highlight is sponsored by BMO.

Zane Caves puts Minooka Football ahead 7-0 before Neuqua Valley’s Drake Mennecke finds Daniel Robinson for a score

Minooka gets the offense charging in the first quarter.  Zane Caves loads up and finds a wide-open Brady Hairald down the middle.  Hairald is off to the races before he gets pushed out of bounds for a gain of 84 to get Minooka in the red zone.

Three plays later, on third and long, Caves rolls to his right and evades the rush. He throws to the back of the end zone, and through tight coverage, he somehow finds Kooper Fisher for the touchdown. It puts Minooka up 7-0 midway through the first.

NV responds right back, inside Minooka territory, Drake Mennecke has plenty of time and throws a deep ball to a wide-open Daniel Robinson down the sideline.  He goes in for a 40-yard touchdown catch, Neuqua misses the PAT, so it’s 7-6 Indians after one.

Caves makes it two touchdowns on the night, and the Indians lead 14-6

In the second quarter, Minooka gets the ground game going.  Chase Nurczyk sidesteps several Neuqua defenders and gets taken down at midfield for a 20-yard run to put them in good field position.  

A couple of plays later, Nurczyk gets the pitch and rumbles down the left side, bouncing off more defenders for an 18-yard run to get the Indians in scoring position.  

Now in the redzone, Caves fakes the handoff and takes it himself.  He slips past several Neuqua defenders before being wrangled down in the endzone for his second touchdown of the night as Minooka extends their lead up 14-6.

Both defenses make big stops as the game heads to the fourth quarter

Towards the end of the first half, Minooka is forced to punt, but they pull out the reverse uno card as Sean Sample takes the rock and pushes past midfield. It’s good enough for a Minooka first down to keep the odds on their side.  

However, the Wildcats’ defense steps up, as Caves pushes forward and looks for Fisher, but Jack Mackey makes the interception to halt the Indians’ scoring drive.  It remains 14-6 as we head into halftime.  

We jump to the fourth quarter, and the score is still 14-6 as Neuqua looks to rally.  The toss is to Andy Barkley, who mimics his skills from last week as he surges ahead towards midfield for a 22-yard run.

Now on the plus side of the field, Mennecke converts again, finding Robinson on the hitch, and he gets a first down in the red zone, putting Neuqua on the verge of a tie.  

Now on third down at the nine, Mennecke has plenty of time before rolling to his right.  Eventually, he throws it over the defender’s head to Andy Barkley for the touchdown to put the Cats down 14-12, now needing the two-point conversion.  

Lining up to tie the game, Mennecke takes the snap and rushes towards the left side looking for the plane.  He gets taken down around the goal line before knocking over the pylon.  Neuqua thinks he’s good, but officials signal no good as Minooka gets the ball back up by two with over two minutes left.

Neuqua Valley forces a stop and looks to win the game against Minooka

But Neuqua’s defense shuts down Minooka.  On third down, Caves throws incomplete into traffic as the Wildcats get the ball back, still with over two minutes left to play.    

On fourth and five, Neuqua stays alive as Mennecke finds Ben Stefanski, who spins out of a tackle and gets the first down to keep the drive going.  

A few plays later, Mennecke completes again.  This time to Josh Repmann, who gets a first down and more as he goes out of bounds at Minooka’s 45.  

On fourth and ten, it’s now or never for Neuqua.  Mennecke steps up before launching it down the field into double coverage.  The pass falls incomplete as Minooka football takes over and claims their first win of the season, 14-12 over Neuqua Valley.  The Wildcats travel to face Lincoln-Way East next Friday, while the Indians head to face Yorkville.