With only five minutes left on the clock, the Trojans led the Hersey Huskies 24-21 after sophomore quarterback Owen Lansu found sophomore wide receiver Oliver Thulin for a 32-yard touchdown. N-Zone leader Alex Miller turned to the student section to deliver an inspiring message. “It’s up to us, the boys need us to be loud so we can close out this game,” Miller said. Winning this game means that the team would advance to the Elite 8.

This season has been the most successful one since 2005, the Trojans finished the regular season 7-2 and dominated Kenwood Academy in the first round of the IHSA playoffs.

“This season was a credit to all the hard work we’ve put in, since the beginning of the season we all knew we could go far. I’m proud of our team, especially all the young guys that have stepped up,” senior tight end Robby Farrington said.

The Trojans trailed 14-3 at half-time but flipped the script in the second half with touchdowns from Noah Battle, Owen Thulin, and Oliver Thulin.

“At half-time, we came in after getting stopped six drives in a row, we were motivated to do better. Our run game wasn’t working like it normally does, so our pass game needed to step up, and we did,” Oliver Thulin said. “Saturday’s game was the most exciting game I’ve ever been a part of. I was fortunate to make the ‘big play’ towards the end of the game.”

Now ranked 8th by the Sun-Times, the Trojans will travel to New Lenox to take on the 17th-ranked Lincoln Way-West Warriors Nov. 11. at 2 p.m.

“This team has so much potential that has not even been tapped yet. With the amount of injuries paired with young guys coming in to play, we just keep gaining more experience. After every game in the film room, even if we win, it’s obvious that we can easily be playing better football every week,” senior linebacker Cael Brezina said.