The South Bend Adams defense was stellar to preserve a huge 10-8 win over city rival and NIC foe Riley Friday night.
SOUTH BEND ― Lamarr Shaw admitted he was tired as he and his South Bend Adams defensive teammates prepared to try and stop the South Bend Riley offense one final time Friday, Oct. 10.
The junior defensive lineman didn't allow fatigue from stopping him to play the hero and preserve a monumental win for his team though.
Shaw was able to sack a scrambling Trevion Fedele of the Wildcats to preserve a 10-8 Northern Indiana Conference win for the Eagles over the Wildcats at Jackson Field.
The victory, which gives the Eagles city bragging right, set off a huge Adams celebration on Riley's homefield following the contest.
Adams improves to 4-4 overall and moves to 3-3 in the NIC. The Wildcats, who started the year 2-0, fall to 3-5 overall and 1-5 in league play.
The sack by Shaw as quarterback Fedele attempted to get off a final pass from the Adams 24-yard line capped a stellar showing by the Adams defense. The unit stopped Riley three times on fourth down in the contest, including on a 4th-and-6 play from the Eagles eight-yard line with 2:29 to play in the game.
Shaw, a 5-11, 260-pound lineman, was one tired, but happy young man.
"This means everything to me," Shaw said, his face beaming with pride. "It's the most important game of the season. We beat them by a point last year, and this shows that was not a fluke.
"In my mind, I was tired on that last play. But I knew that I had to push through it, not only for myself and my family, but for my teammates. They all wanted this as bad as I did. This is our year. Four wins now ,and tonight is a celebration."
The Eagles won despite having three turnovers to none for Riley and being outgained in total yards 248-181.
Adams allowed just a Riley touchdown following a 14-yard drive in the second quarter that was set up by an interception.
The Eagles took the lead at 10-8 on an eight-yard scamper by sophomore quarterback Cayden Keen with 10:53 left. Adams then stopped the Wildcats on downs, but had to punt the ball back to the hosts with 1:34 to play.
Riley drove from its own 45-yard line to the Eagles 24 before sophomore lineman Franklin Passwater came up with a tackle of Fedele for a two-yard loss. Riley then spiked the ball to stop the clock with 3.6 seconds to play, setting the stage for Shaw's final tackle.
"This one means a lot, especially for us to get to 4-4," said fourth-year Adams coach Frank Karczewski. I'm so proud of how our team fought tonight. To get to 4-4 with where we have been is pretty darn good. It's a credit to our kids and their belief in themselves and their willingness to do whatever it takes.
"Our senior class were winless as a freshmen team. Jalen White, our defensive coordinator who graduated with me from Adams in 2013, had our guys ready tonight. Our defense just did a great job. When we had our third turnover, I said you can't win losing the turnover battle 3-0. But we did. Our defense just made big play after big play for us tonight."
The Eagles, who beat Washington 28-7 prior to playing Riley, won a total of four games the past three seasons.
A handful of former Adams players were playing for Riley Friday night, a fact not lost on either Shaw or Karczewski.
"I told them to stay; that we were building something," said Shaw. "It showed right here tonight."
"We try to do things the right way in our program and make it bigger than just football," added Karczewski. "It's not winning at all costs. It's about teaching these kids life lessons."
The Wildcats took an 8-0 lead as senior signal caller Fedele scored on a one-yard run with 7:30 to play in the second period. Senior Teon Wadley, who led his team with 15 rushes for 84 yards, scored the two-point conversion on a run.
Adams cut the lead to 8-3 at halftime as senior Eric Garcialazo hit a 40-yard field goal with 3:10 to play in the second stanza.
Fourth-year Riley coach Darrick Lee was blunt after a long postgame talk with his team.
"It's an inner city game, but losing on your home field sucks no matter who it's to," Lee said. "We just have to clean it up. We have to play a more disciplined game, and I have to figure that out.
"We couldn't play ahead of the sticks. We would have a penalty or something that would hurt us. Our guys played hard and with good effort. We just need to be more technical sound. All four years against them (Adams) it's been a tough, close defensive battle. They wanted it just a tad more than we did tonight. That's it."
Fedele finished with 23 rushes for 73 yards for the Wildcats.
Junior Carson Bryce was the workhorse for the Eagles. He had 26 carries for 132 yards and was all over the field too from his defensive back position before leaving the game late due to an apparent injury.
Adams hosts Elkhart (5-3, 3-3) and Riley hosts Mishawaka Marian (2-6, 1-5) in the final NIC and regular season games next Friday, Oct. 17. Elkhart beat Marian 59-14 Friday night.
This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: South Bend Adams football beats Riley in city rivalry, NIC game
Category: General Sports
