Will Cook County News

By Claude Martinez.

Evergreen Park — The 25th anniversary of September 11 was remembered by Evergreen Park Community High School, 9901 S Kedzie Ave, with flags at half-mast and smaller American flags lining the school on the north and west sides of the street.

Coming into the contest, both the Alan B. Shepard Astros and the Evergreen Park Mustangs had 2-1 records and were looking to make a statement in the South Suburban Conference.

The Mustangs got on the board first.

Kicker Cole Nardo squared the uprights on a 38-yard field goal, giving Evergreen Park an early 3-0 lead.

Evergreen Park added in the second quarter.

Brady Bruen directed the offense down the field before keeping the ball himself and dancing into the end zone from three yards out. The two-point try was good, putting the Mustangs up 11-0.

With less than 45 seconds remaining in the half, the Astros finally found an answer. Ashton Hite delivered an excellent corner-route pass to Brendin Thomas, cutting the deficit to four.

The Mustangs responded with just 37 seconds left on the clock. Their seven-play drive ended with Nardo connecting on a 28-yard field goal.

Halftime: Evergreen Park 14, Shepard 7.

Shepard came out with momentum in the third quarter. Hite connected with Jamaal White on a short five-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 14-14.

From there, both defenses played aggressively, keeping the game tied deep into the final quarter. With just 1:06 remaining and the Mustangs facing the ball at their own 10-yard line, Bruen rolled to his right and lofted a pass downfield.

The ball spun before bouncing off a defender’s helmet and falling into the hands of Jaylen Chothen.

Chothen made the most of the unexpected opportunity, taking the ball down to the six-yard line for the WCCN Play of the Game.

On the very next play, Cory Isaac took the handoff up the middle and powered through the defense for the go-ahead touchdown, giving the Mustangs a 21-14 victory.

For Shepard, junior quarterback Ashton Hite threw for 259 yards and two touchdowns.

For Evergreen Park, the WCCN Player of the Game award went to sophomore wide receiver and free safety Jaylen Chothen, who made an incredible catch to set up the game-winning score. Chothen spoke about the play.

To hear from Chothen, Bruen and head coach Jim Ramazinski watch the news package on YouTube, Facebook or Instagram.

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