Argo had the final scoring opportunity it wanted in Friday night’s South Suburban crossover contest against host Tinley Park.
Unfortunately for the Argonauts, an untimely interception thrown after reaching the Titans’ 30-yard-line with 56 seconds remaining on a first-and-10 play sealed their fate in a 19-14 loss.
“The kids fought at the end, but we just struggled at the beginning,” Argo coach Phillip Rossberg said. “We’re playing banged up right now and hopefully, we can get back on track this week against Eisenhower.
“We need to clean things up and continue to get better these last few weeks to set ourselves up for another playoff run here.”
On the subject of running, Steven Holmes did his fair share against the Titans. The Argonauts’ senior running back accounted for 209 yards and a touchdown on 20 carries. Holmes’ 65-yard scoring sprint and Kacper Lobas’ PAT kick provided the Argonauts (3-3) with a 14-13 lead in the fourth quarter before the Titans (3-3) scored on a run of their own to regain their advantage.
“Steve put up some numbers and he fought hard,” Rossberg said. “When we needed a big play, Steve stepped up and showed why he is a captain of the team. And our offensive line started playing cleaner and tougher in the second half.”
Trailing 6-0 in the second quarter, Argo took a 7-6 lead as Terryon Taylor, who finished with three catches on the night, scored on a 28-yard pass. Tinley Park tallied on a run later in the stanza to grab a 13-7 margin at intermission.
Defensively, the Argonauts were paced by Taylor, who had eight tackles and Jakub Jarosz, who had seven tackles and a fumble recovery.
“We have a lot of substitutions on both our offensive and defensive lines,” Rossberg said. “And it showed up a little in the first half. This is a tough loss, but the boys settled in and fought hard at the end.”