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Slammed Shut
Belvidere North pulls off goal line stand to end 40-37 scorefest against Belvidere
By Cody Cutter
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Publisher
BELVIDERE (Oct. 16) – Something had to give in the annual football battle between
the two Belvidere high schools.
Just don't say that to Alex Gomez about his right calf muscle.
With his team leading 40-35 late in the game, Gomez, the junior defensive back for
Belvidere North, was on the path of a big run by Belvidere's David Gamboa. After
receiving a pass from quarterback Troy Vandenbroek, Gamboa ran 30 yards to the
North three-yard line where he was met by Gomez, who pulled his right calf muscle
making the tackle.
The rest of the Blue Thunder defense did their part by successfully defending a goal
line stand to end the Bucs possession with 1:51 left to play. North held on to win 40-
37 after a last-second safety.
Gomez brought Gamboa down in the extra effort along the Blue Thunder sideline.
One wrong move and Gamboa would have given the Bucs a one-point lead.
“That would have been pretty much it,” said North coach Curt Tobin.
After being carried deeper into the sideline, the North defense kept encouraging
Gomez to get back on his feet. When they knew it couldn't happen, the defense
carried on. Leading rusher Marcus Gooden had a gain of one yard, then a loss of five
and a gain of four to put the Bucs back at the North 3 on fourth down. Vandenbroek
took the ensuing snap and was driven backward for an eight-yard sack by linebacker
Brandon Davis.
“Against a great ground team like Belvidere, they start first-and-goal at the three and
they don't score. That just says a tremendous job for our defense,” added Tobin.
“Those are things where you either make the plays or you don't. Sometimes not just
for a ballgame, but the whole season is defined by it.”
All North quarterback Tony Tindle needed to do now was run down the clock.
“We have one of the meanest, toughest defenses that I have seen this year,” said
Tindle. “This defense had really pulled through for us this year and they made a big
stop. I knew our defense could pull through for us.”
The stand was a rare instance in a game where the goal line was being crossed a
combined 11 times. North began the scoring right off the bat when kick returner Dylan
Roberts caught the opening kickoff, which was a re-kick, and ran 91 yards to the end
zone.
Most scores came on runaway plays. Belvidere's first score of the game was on a 63-
yard run by Gooden. After Gooden added a three-yard score to put his team ahead
14-7, North took it to the air to get back the lead.
Having tried and completed one pass prior to Gooden's second run, Tindle gave
North it's next score with a 61-yard completion to Roberts. After the Bucs punted their
possession over, the Blue Thunder just needed one play, a Tindle-to-Alex Tripp 66-
yard completion, to regain the lead.
Trailing 34-14 with 7:56 left in the third quarter, the Bucs decided to do some passing
of their own. Vandenbroek threw four consecutive passes starting at his 40-yard line:
one for a loss of three, another to Gooden for a gain of 24, another to Cody
Colquette for a gain of 24, and another to Gooden for a 16-yard touchdown
completion. Vandenbroek found Colquette twice on their next scoring drive in aiding a
11-yard touchdown run by Gooden to make it a 34-29 game with 3:16 remaining in
the third quarter.
North scored three plays into the next drive, with a 57-yard run by Tindle capping it
off. Belvidere responded with a score to make it a 40-35 game with 9:32 left to play.
“We were just playing with emotion instead of playing with discipline,” Belvidere coach
Matt Weckler said about his team's defensive effort. “They were just making plays
instead of just doing what they're supposed to do.
“We have to play four quarters of football, and we played three tonight and kind of got
behind.”
Tindle rushed for 63 yards, and passed for 269 going 9-for-13 with one interception.
“My performance was all about my line,” said Tindle. “They gave me so much time. I
trust my receivers, and they took some from me after they caught the ball and brought
it in, and they made this game happen.”
Gooden led Belvidere with 109 rushing yards. Vandenbroek passed for 194 yards
going 11-for-16.
“Both teams played real hard, and in a sense there's no losers in a game like that,”
said Tobin. “Both teams held their heads up high. Belvidere gets down 35-14, and it
showed a lot for them to be able to roar back the way they did.”
Both teams are 4-4 on the season, heading into the final week of the regular season.
The Blue Thunder host Rockford Auburn next week, while the Bucs travel to Wyeth
Stadium in Rockford to take on Jefferson.
“This is real big,” said running back Zackery Stinson, who scored the first North
touchdown in the second half. “We needed the win to get playoffs at least. We knew
our circumstances coming in, and we just wanted to get a big win.”
The Belvidere sophomore team beat North 40-7.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat. He can be reached at
Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com.
Northern Illinois Sports Beat Publisher
BELVIDERE (Oct. 16) – Something had to give in the annual football battle between
the two Belvidere high schools.
Just don't say that to Alex Gomez about his right calf muscle.
With his team leading 40-35 late in the game, Gomez, the junior defensive back for
Belvidere North, was on the path of a big run by Belvidere's David Gamboa. After
receiving a pass from quarterback Troy Vandenbroek, Gamboa ran 30 yards to the
North three-yard line where he was met by Gomez, who pulled his right calf muscle
making the tackle.
The rest of the Blue Thunder defense did their part by successfully defending a goal
line stand to end the Bucs possession with 1:51 left to play. North held on to win 40-
37 after a last-second safety.
Gomez brought Gamboa down in the extra effort along the Blue Thunder sideline.
One wrong move and Gamboa would have given the Bucs a one-point lead.
“That would have been pretty much it,” said North coach Curt Tobin.
After being carried deeper into the sideline, the North defense kept encouraging
Gomez to get back on his feet. When they knew it couldn't happen, the defense
carried on. Leading rusher Marcus Gooden had a gain of one yard, then a loss of five
and a gain of four to put the Bucs back at the North 3 on fourth down. Vandenbroek
took the ensuing snap and was driven backward for an eight-yard sack by linebacker
Brandon Davis.
“Against a great ground team like Belvidere, they start first-and-goal at the three and
they don't score. That just says a tremendous job for our defense,” added Tobin.
“Those are things where you either make the plays or you don't. Sometimes not just
for a ballgame, but the whole season is defined by it.”
All North quarterback Tony Tindle needed to do now was run down the clock.
“We have one of the meanest, toughest defenses that I have seen this year,” said
Tindle. “This defense had really pulled through for us this year and they made a big
stop. I knew our defense could pull through for us.”
The stand was a rare instance in a game where the goal line was being crossed a
combined 11 times. North began the scoring right off the bat when kick returner Dylan
Roberts caught the opening kickoff, which was a re-kick, and ran 91 yards to the end
zone.
Most scores came on runaway plays. Belvidere's first score of the game was on a 63-
yard run by Gooden. After Gooden added a three-yard score to put his team ahead
14-7, North took it to the air to get back the lead.
Having tried and completed one pass prior to Gooden's second run, Tindle gave
North it's next score with a 61-yard completion to Roberts. After the Bucs punted their
possession over, the Blue Thunder just needed one play, a Tindle-to-Alex Tripp 66-
yard completion, to regain the lead.
Trailing 34-14 with 7:56 left in the third quarter, the Bucs decided to do some passing
of their own. Vandenbroek threw four consecutive passes starting at his 40-yard line:
one for a loss of three, another to Gooden for a gain of 24, another to Cody
Colquette for a gain of 24, and another to Gooden for a 16-yard touchdown
completion. Vandenbroek found Colquette twice on their next scoring drive in aiding a
11-yard touchdown run by Gooden to make it a 34-29 game with 3:16 remaining in
the third quarter.
North scored three plays into the next drive, with a 57-yard run by Tindle capping it
off. Belvidere responded with a score to make it a 40-35 game with 9:32 left to play.
“We were just playing with emotion instead of playing with discipline,” Belvidere coach
Matt Weckler said about his team's defensive effort. “They were just making plays
instead of just doing what they're supposed to do.
“We have to play four quarters of football, and we played three tonight and kind of got
behind.”
Tindle rushed for 63 yards, and passed for 269 going 9-for-13 with one interception.
“My performance was all about my line,” said Tindle. “They gave me so much time. I
trust my receivers, and they took some from me after they caught the ball and brought
it in, and they made this game happen.”
Gooden led Belvidere with 109 rushing yards. Vandenbroek passed for 194 yards
going 11-for-16.
“Both teams played real hard, and in a sense there's no losers in a game like that,”
said Tobin. “Both teams held their heads up high. Belvidere gets down 35-14, and it
showed a lot for them to be able to roar back the way they did.”
Both teams are 4-4 on the season, heading into the final week of the regular season.
The Blue Thunder host Rockford Auburn next week, while the Bucs travel to Wyeth
Stadium in Rockford to take on Jefferson.
“This is real big,” said running back Zackery Stinson, who scored the first North
touchdown in the second half. “We needed the win to get playoffs at least. We knew
our circumstances coming in, and we just wanted to get a big win.”
The Belvidere sophomore team beat North 40-7.
Cody Cutter is the Publisher of Northern Illinois Sports Beat. He can be reached at
Northernillinoissportsbeat@yahoo.com.
The General Mills Crosstown Challenge Goes to North for a second
year in a row. (Photo by Cody Cutter)
year in a row. (Photo by Cody Cutter)
Former Belvidere coach LaVern Pottinger (center) is one of six
charter members of the newly-established Belvidere High
School Football Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place at
halftime of the Crosstown football game. (Photo by Cody Cutter)
charter members of the newly-established Belvidere High
School Football Hall of Fame. The ceremony took place at
halftime of the Crosstown football game. (Photo by Cody Cutter)
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