Then Downers Grove South swept it all away.

The door opened for the Redhawks with less than three minutes left to play in the first Clas 8A championship game ever played.

For the near-unthinkable happened - Downers Grove South kicker Kris Coffee, who had made 9-of-11 field goal attempts and 53 of 57 PATs, missed what for him was a chippy, a 20-yarder.

"When he missed it - he's an excellent kicker - I said, 'That's a good sign,'" Bunge said.

Sure, it came at the end of a Mustangs drive that even with the Mustangs owning the battle for time possession by a whopping 33 minutes 31 seconds to the Redhawks' 14:29, was a long one. Starting with the last play of the third quarter, Downers Grove South controlled the ball 19 plays and 9 minutes and 56 seconds.

Coffee's missed field goal left Naperville Central just 2:55 to somehow rally from a 28-23 deficit.

Who would have thought then that that was way too much time?

Phil Horvath missed on his first pass attempt from the 20-yard line, attempted to Dan Passarelli. But Horvath connected on a 12-yarder to Passarelli, a 29-yard juggling catch by Tyke Spencer and then the 40-yard touchdown pass to Spencer that suddenly, after monumental effort, earned Naperville Central their first lead of the game, 31-28.

There was 1:49 remaining.

"We came right down and probably scored a little bit too quickly," Bunge said. "That's the way it goes."

The way it went was Downers South conducted a two-minute drill moved 78 yards in 1:14. The skill, and the breaks, were with the Mustangs, who overcame a bad snap over Cuzzone's head out of the shotgun with, later, Erick Newman's second successful halfback pass of the game to keep the drive alive.

But perhaps the Mustangs scored too soon. For with 38 seconds left, Horvath lined the Redhawks up at their own 34-yard line. And on the first play he had Tyke Spencer open - for just a second, before sophomore Sam Carson butted in and intercepted the pass, effectively ending the game.

Naturally, Horvath was distraught, even while reflecting on the outcome.

"It's been the greatest two years of my life," the senior said. "The experiences I went through, the friends I made.

"With all my teammates, it was the greatest thing. Every season I look forward to it. We all work together in the weight room and this is what it came down to, this is what we wanted - to have the ball with thirty seconds left in the fourth quarter."

"He played great, like all these kids here," Bunge said.

"It was an exciting game and I'm happy - I'm not happy - but I'm proud of the kids at Naperville Central who when their backs were against the wall stood there tough and hung in there, and almost pulled it out."