Stevenson rallies to beat Zion-Benton
By David Perry Special to The News-Sun October 19, 2012 10:18PM
Updated: November 21, 2012 6:07AM
Visiting Stevenson scored 28 second-half points to beat Zion-Benton 28-14 on Friday and earn a share of the North Suburban Conference Lake Division football title.
They share the championship with Lake Zurich, as both teams finished 5-1 in the division.
In the first half, Z-B played its best ball of the season.
The defense allowed nothing, and the Bees moved ahead 7-0 at intermission when senior running back Alex Pasiewicz ran 84 yards for a touchdown with 2:24 left in the half.
Stevenson returned the ensuing kickoff to the Z-B 25, but Zion’s defnese stood tough.
In the first half, Stevenson’s talented sophomore quarterback Willie Bourbon struggled, as he completed 5-of-14 passes for 118 yards and a pick.
He carried the ball seven times for just nine yards.
But in the second half, Stevenson got its offense going.
The Pats took the second-half kickoff and drove the length of the field, with Matt Morrissey scoring on a nine-yard pass from Bourbon to make it a 7-6 game.
On Zion’s next possesssion, the the Bees snapped the ball over the punter’s head, and Stevenson scored on a three-play, 18-yard drive. Alan Belev got the points on a 17-yard pass from Bourbon that made it 14-7.
Zion didn’t give up, tying the game up with 2:18 left in the third quarter on an an 18-yard pass from Dylan Appenzeller to Demetrius Knox.
But moments later, Stevenson took the lead for good on a 14-yard run by Anthony Bozin.
The Patriots tacked on a fourth-quarter TD on a seven-yard run by Bourbon.
Stevenson finished 7-2 and will be in the playoffs next week. Zion-Benton wound up 2-7, but showed signs of breaking into the middle echelon of teams in the area with a strong second-half performance this season.
