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Plano Outruns Westmont To Advance To 3A Quarterfinals
Despite Defensive Woes, Reapers and Nasti Prevail With Huge Rushing Attack
By Bill Lidinsky
The last time Plano and Westmont had met on the high school football gridiron was at Westmont back on Sept. 22 when the Reapers pretty easily handled the Sentinels in week five by the score of 35-14.
In that Interstate Eight Conference game, Plano star running back Nick Nasti was held to just 70 yards rushing coming off a sprained ankle, while Westmont premier back Andy Zapinski could only muster 14 yards on the ground against a stingy Reaper defense.
Fast forward to week 11 in the 2006 campaign and the both players and their respective teams would be doing battle once again, this time at Plano, on Saturday night, in round two of the IHSA Class 3A playoffs.
And what a difference a little post season magic made in spurring on Nasti and Zapinski to perform at a level far removed from week five.
Behind Nasti’s 32 carry, 263 yards rushing, four touchdown masterpiece, Plano (11-0) overcame a sub par defensive effort along with the 187 yards running and 99 yards receiving by Zapinski and Westmont (8-3), as the Reapers outlasted the Sentinels 44-37 to move on to the 3A quarterfinals at Amboy next Saturday at 1 p.m.
“Westmont didn’t see the real Nick (Nasti) the last time. It had to really open their eyes because he really didn’t run like that at all coming off his ankle sprain,” said Plano head football coach Jim Green. “Nick and Zapinski really put on a show. We didn’t expect to hold him (Zapinski) to 14 yards rushing again, but we also never expected him to do what he did to us tonight.”
Westmont opened the scoring at 3:50 of the first quarter. After a 16 play 73 yard drive that chewed up eight minutes and two seconds of the clock, the Sentinels tallied when quarterback Josh Vervack hit Zapinski with a 15-yard scoring strike to give Westmont a 7-0 advantage.
But Plano would counter quickly on their first series at 3:01. On the second play from scrimmage Nasti bounced outside and raced down the right sideline for a 41-yard touchdown run. The point after kick try failed and Westmont still led 7-6.
But almost unbelievably the Sentinels and Zapinski would strike two plays later against a stunned Reaper defense, this time with a huge play.
At 1:59 of the first period Zapinski took a handoff from Vervack and scampered down the right sideline for a 75-yard touchdown run to give Westmont a 14-6 advantage going into the second quarter of play.
But Nasti punched in a two-yard touchdown on the first play of the second period at 11:56 and quarterback Brook Bott’s keeper for the two-point conversion tied the score at 14 apiece.
However, Westmont kept coming at the Reapers with big plays.
At 9:07 of the second, Vervack hit Zapinski with a 67-yard scoring toss to give the Sentinels their third lead at 21-14.
Plano took the punch and quickly countered with running back Brian Green’s nice 13-yard touchdown run around left tackle with 7:20 to go in the half. Nasti’s two-yard bash for the two-point conversion gave the Reapers their first lead of the game at 22-21.
Plano had another chance quickly after recovering the ensuing onside kick, but that drive and one other failed to produce any points.
But Westmont couldn’t either and the half ended for the Reapers surprisingly with a one point advantage.
“I was ready to go in at halftime and start screaming because we were playing so poorly defensively. I don’t get like that too often, but the coach’s reminded me that we were winning,” Green said. “And they were right. Our kids knew they weren’t playing their best ball. Nobody needed to remind them of that. We made some adjustments and came out strong in the third quarter.”
Plano tallied the first two scores of the third period on Nasti’s one-yard plunge at 7:58 and Luis Alvarado’s six-yard scamper with 1:49 to go in the period.
At that point with the Reapers up 37-21 and with the defense playing well again, things were looking good.
But with 43 seconds left in the third, Zapinski escaped again for another long touchdown run, this time coming from 55-yards away. Westmont once again had failed to wilt despite playing the number one ranked Class 3A team in the state.
“We weren’t about to give up even though we were down a couple of scores,” said Westmont head football coach Jeff Schroeder. “Zapinski played such a heck of a game for us as he has throughout his career at Westmont. He’s a phenomenal player as is the Nasti kid from Plano.”
Nasti added his fourth and final touchdown on a 20-yard run at 8:56 of the last quarter to give the Reapers a 44-29 lead.
But at 5:18 Zapinski notched his fifth touchdown of the contest on a three-yard plunge to draw the Sentinels to within seven at 44-37.
With Plano driving next for the game clinching score, Nasti fumbled on the Westmont 14 and the Sentinels recovered with 1:59 to go. But the Reaper defense stiffened and Plano escaped with a seven-point victory.
“I’m not sure what to say about why our defense struggled tonight, but I give a lot of credit to my offensive line for their blocking and allowing me to have such a nice night,” Nasti said. “I also have to credit Luis (Alvarado) for having a nice game as well.”
In addition to Nasti’s 263 yards rushing, Alvarado carried the ball 13 times for 132 yards on the ground and one touchdown.
With the win Plano moves on to Amboy next Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff in the IHSA Class 3A quarterfinals. The Clippers (9-2) were a 50-20 winner at Hampshire also on Saturday and will certainly provide another test for Reaper Nation on their march toward a championship.
“We’re just happy to make it to week three of the playoffs. That’s what it’s about. Nobody says you have to win every game by 30 or 40 points,” Green said. “If we make some adjustments and take care of business at Amboy, we know we’ll be back here at Reaper Stadium for the semifinal matchup in two weeks. That’s some pretty good incentive and I’m sure our guys won’t lose focus on that.”
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