Saturday, Dec. 3rd, will be a day to go down in College of DuPage history as the Chaparrals football team beat the undefeated Central Lake Raiders, in overtime, with a score of 25-22, during the inaugural Red Grange Bowl hosted at COD.

The game was back and forth for four quarters of football, and the Chaps and Raiders were equally matched. However,  the game was sent to overtime because of the poor play of the Chaps in situational football. The Chaps also turned the ball over seven times. When you are playing an undefeated team, and you continually turnover the ball, you are almost handing them a win.

All throughout the game, the Chaps took awhile to get all levels of the team going. Offense was turning the ball over, defense wasn’t able to keep up and special teams was no help.

Thankfully for the Chaps, the Raiders were unable to take advantage of turnover points. The defense had its moments where they gave up points, but they were able to finally make the big play of the game, the play that saved them and sent them to overtime. In the final minutes of the fourth quarter, the Raiders tried to put away the game with a final rushing touchdown, but instead the Chaps defense stepped up and  forced a turnover during the hit on the running back, in the endzone, and were able to recover the ball and give themselves a final chance in overtime.

At half time, place kicker and punter Casey Bednarski, told me about his frustration with the lack of points and his use during the game in the first half.

“In high school, my longest field goal was a 55 yards, but I feel confident that on a good day, like today, I can hit one from 60 yards out.  I feel like I’ve played my role the entire season, but in this game I haven’t played my role, because they haven’t let me. I would love to go out there and score points, but it’s all up to the coach and his decision. I just like to get on the field as much as i can and make a difference. If you score points every time you have the ball, you’re gonna win the game.”

Finally, in the third quarter, quarterback Evan Scales was able to get the offense rolling, and even scored a walk-in touchdown. After that point, the Chaps were able to fight until overtime, and soon Bednarski would finally get his chance.

With the final seconds of the game looming, and the win on the line, the Chaps sent out their kicker for the game-winning field goal. The crowd waited with anticipation of the outcome. Then straight through the middle of the goal post, Bednarski’s chip shot kick from about 15 yards out was good, and it was all over. The Chaps went against all odds to win a championship bowl game and end a great season in winning fashion.

The 2016 Chaparrals football team will always be remembered for what they were able to accomplish this year and bringing a championship to COD.