You should never, ever, ever,...

...leave a game early -- ever. (At least that's what I always tell people.) If you go to the trouble of going to a game, you owe it to yourself to stay in case there's a dramatic finish. Yep, that's what I always tell people.

Why, just a few weeks ago, my brother was at the Kansas-Colorado game in which the Jayhawks had their biggest comeback ever, scoring 35 unanswered points in the last eleven minutes to beat the Buffaloes, 52-45, and send Colorado's coach into an early retirement.

It was Dad's Day at Lawrence, and my brother's wife and daughter were lobbying him to leave the game early.

"Come on -- let's get out of here! Everybody else is leaving."

It was true. My brother was one of the few remaining dads in the stands. But you have to understand something: he's Jim Tracy's son.

"It's a beautiful day," my brother replied. "Let's stay a little longer. What else have we got to do?"

Good call.

According to NBC (my emphasis):

[Kansas] linebacker Steven Johnson said first-year coach Turner Gill had a prophetic message at halftime with the Buffaloes up 35-10.

"He said, 'You all need to come out here and get ready for the best comeback ever,'" Johnson said.
 
Wow.
 
"We thought the game was over," said Colorado running back Rodney Stewart.
 
Colorado coach Dan Hawkins said he told his team to relax in the fourth quarter.
 
Ouch!
 
Why am I telling you all this? Yep, you guessed it -- I left the Loyola-Maine South game early and missed one of the best comebacks of the season. My excuse? I had to have dinner with a Famous Celebrity and his wife on her birthday. You see, they had reservations at a fancy French restaurant downtown. I couldn't be late; my wife would kill me.
 
Or I could have listened to the guy next to me.
 
"How many years have you been married?"
 
"It will be 24 on Monday. Why?"
 
"She's not going anywhere."
 
Good point. But this guy doesn't know my wife! (Besides, I was taping the game anyway and planned to watch it again after we got home. Call it the "belt-and-suspenders" strategy.)
___
 
I should probably back up and start at the beginning.
 
When I arrived at Hoerster Field at Sachs Stadium (how many big donors can they fit on the name of this place?), my wife's parting words to me were still fresh in my ears, "Don't you be late. Remember, we have to leave here by 4:30!"
 
"Yeah, yeah, yeah," I muttered under my breath. (I'm not crazy!) "And you better hope this game doesn't go into OT!"
 
When I saw the stands filling up an hour before Game Time I went into panic mode. Come on, I thought to myself, get this line for tickets moving...it ain't rocket science...no time to stop for a hot dog; I've gotta get a seat!
 
But then I glanced down at the program in my gloved hands and on the back was an ad for Hackney's:
 
It's not whether you win or lose, it's where you eat after the game.
 
Relax, I thought to myself, you're in the right place. Everything will be fine.
 
I found a great seat in my usual spot -- about the 35-yard line on the east end of the stadium -- and immediately began bending everyone's ears around me with my incredible knowledge of Illinois high school football. (They all seemed really glad I chose to sit near them.)
 
After the obligatory National Anthem and some prayer to St. Ignatius of Loyola and (another) reminder that Mass would be said immediately after the game in some chapel in the school, The Game began.
 

The first half was all Maine South, as the Hawks held Loyola to seven points while sophomore quarterback Matt Alviti (above) directed the Park Ridge squad to a touchdown and a field goal. 
 

I was really surprised. Before the game, I figured that Loyola was a slight favorite (Red Flag!) due to their notoriously stingy defense and home field advantage. If they could just shut down Maine South running back Paul Preston, junior quarterback Malcolm Weaver (above) could do the rest, handing off to Spencer Perry and passing to EJ Webb, Charlie Dowdle and Michael Collins. But the Ramblers were flat on offense and the Hawks didn't seem to be having much trouble moving the ball, despite being called for what seemed like an inordinate number of penalties. (By the end of the game, Maine South was penalized at least eleven times, by my count, for over a hundred yards. They'll have to be sharper next week against Mount Carmel.)
 
But good coaches make the adjustments at halftime, and Loyola was a completely different team after intermission. In the second half (until I left), it was all Loyola as Malcolm Weaver ran for his second and third touchdowns of the game. Maine South, on the other hand, was unable to get anything going on offense. Was I watching the same game?
 
After Weaver's third touchdown -- a nifty 64-yard scamper from scrimmage -- the Ramblers converted for two, making the score 22-13. Maine South was now down by two scores after having had four straight three-and-outs. They were beginning to remind me of the team that lost to Wheaton Warrenville South, 44-7, in Week 2. 
 

At this point, there were five minutes left on the clock, my watch said 3:30 and Weaver and his teammates were celebrating. After getting knocked out of the playoffs by Maine South the last two years, the Ramblers would finally get their revenge and beat the Hawks. Next stop was Champaign and another chance at Mount Carmel in the finals. Hackney's would be rockin' tonight.
 
So I left. (I was taping the game, remember?) But as Paul Harvey used to say, "Hold -- the -- phone."
 
One thing I've read over and over in the papers this season was the importance of playing for 48 minutes. Weaver, Coach John Holecek and the rest of the Ramblers lost sight of this. Coach Dave Inserra and his Hawks did not. (Although Inserra admitted later, "Being down nine there was a little scary.")
 
As I was leaving the stadium and walking to my car on Laramie Avenue (I had a great spot, by the way), I heard the Maine South crowd erupt suddenly. Hey, something good must have happened for them, I thought. Looks like they'll make it close -- like 22-20, or something. Good for them. I wish I had seen that.
 
And then a little farther down the street, the crowd went nuts. I must have missed a two-point conversion or something. 22-21 -- what a game! Kinda wish I was still there.
 
When I got home I ran to my computer and my Twitter account: 
 

Matt Alviti ran for a touchdown with less than three minutes left. After the kickoff (no onside?), the Hawks recovered a Loyola fumble in the end zone on the very next play (above). Two touchdowns in nine seconds! What the --?
 

On the next set of downs, Loyola turned the ball over for the fourth time in the half and Weaver left the game with an injury. Jimmy Frankos (above) then kicked a career-long 43-yard field goal to make it 29-22. The Hawks scored 16 points in the game's final 2:43. Wow.
 
(Weaver was driven off the field in a golf cart. I really hope he's okay. The kid's got a lot of heart and I'm looking forward to watching him in his senior year.)
 
But wait! The game wasn't over. Sophomore quarterback Peter Pujals led the Ramblers down to the Hawks' 4-yard line where they were stopped with one second remaining on the clock. What a finish! (Wish I had been there.)
 
Maine South now travels to Champaign next weekend to play Mount Carmel in the 8A finals. Can the Hawks make it three state titles in a row? I don't know, but the last team to beat Maine South in the playoffs was -- drum roll! -- Mount Carmel, 21-14, in the 2007 quarterfinals.
___
 

Oh, and the dinner? It was okay, I guess. Like an old boss of mine once said about French restaurants, "They give you a piece of meat the size of a deck of cards and then talk about the sauce for five minutes!"