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mokenamessenger.com sports
the Mokena Messenger | October 6, 2016 | 53
LW East’s O-line block helps
secures victory against Andrew
Griffins advance to
5-1 in Week 6
Jon DePaolis
Freelance Reporter
It was just the second play
of the game, but after Lincoln-Way
East senior running
back Nigel Muhammad
streaked across the field for a
64-yard score, the clock may
as well have read all zeros.
Muhammad rushed for 133
yards on four carries Friday,
Sept. 30, and the Griffins
trounced Andrew 49-7 in
Week 6 action in Tinley Park.
Muhammad later scored
on a 62-yard carry to cement
East’s lead, as the Griffins
cruised to a 42-0 lead at
halftime.
“I can tell you that just
seeing the O-line block is
amazing,” Muhammad said.
“It was all them, and it had
nothing to do with me. I did
the running, but if it weren’t
for the O-line, the tight ends
and the receivers doing their
blocking, it wouldn’t have
been 60-plus [yards] – it
would have been zero.”
East coach Rob Zvonar
credited his running back’s
work ethic after the game.
“He’s been great for us the
last two years,” Zvonar said.
“He’s our leader in the running
back squad, and we’re
very proud of him and his
work ethic and maturation.”
Muhammad wasn’t the
only one to excel on offense.
Brendan Morrissey (2
rushes, 49 yards) scored on
a 40-yard carry, and Ryan
Scianna scored on a 2-yard
plunge late in the first half.
Senior quarterback Max
Shafer went 3-of-8 passing
for 76 yards and two touchdowns
– to Nick Zelenika
on a 25-yard strike, and to
Turner Pallissard on an 18-
yard strike.
Leading the receivers was
Jeremy Nelson, who caught
three passes for 78 yards.
Muhammad pointed to the
offensive unit’s communication
as a reason for its continued
success.
“We all play as one, and
we’re all one big family,” he
said. “We don’t play as individuals.
That is one thing
Coach [Zvonar] has always
been about – 11 as one, all
as one.”
In the second half, Peter
Ostrowski also ran in a
score, much to the delight of
the East sideline.
“He’s a tremendous young
man and a hard worker,”
Zvonar said of Ostrowski.
“He’s given this program
everything he could, and it’s
always great to get as many
kids involved that work their
tails off during the week.”
On defense, the Griffins
made life difficult for
Andrew quarterback Ryan
Summers as the T-Bolts senior
went 8-of-16, passing
for 71 yards and two interceptions.
Cole Griffin, the T-
Bolts’ running back, gained
just 21 yards on 11 carries
but he also scored the team’s
only points on a 16-yard
rush in the third quarter.
Leading the way for the
Griffins on defense were
Colton Pedersen (1 interception)
and Brett Stegmueller,
who had a sack, a tackle for
loss and an interception.
“[Stegmueller] gets better
every week,” Zvonar said of
the linebacker. “Nobody puts
more into it than he does. He’s
a cerebral player. Anything
that he lacks physically, he
makes up mentally and with
his emotion and his heart. You
really enjoy being around kids
like that who are all in.”
The win improved East to
5-1, while Andrew dropped
Lincoln-Way East’s Dominic Dzioban kicks the ball Friday,
Sept. 30, during a game against Andrew High School in
Tinley Park. Photos by Julie McMann/22nd Century Media
East’s Chris Wilder (left) outruns Andrew’s Josh Gentile
during the game against Andrew.
to 0-6. But the standings
don’t tell the whole story,
Andrew coach Adam Lewandowski
said.
“We are not short on heart,
that’s for sure,” Lewandowski
said. “Our guys are fully
bought in, and that’s never
wavered. They are fully invested
and fully committed,
and they want to do better
every play. We are going to
keep coaching, and they are
going to keep trying.
“This is a very hardworking
team. The wins and losses
are not going the way we
wanted them to go, but we
certainly have a lot of pride
in the fact that we do work
hard. We have a lot of pride
in the fact that these are the
guys that stayed when things
got tough the last couple of
years. There were plenty of
guys who [left], but these are
the men who stayed. That’s a
tremendous source of pride.”
Athlete of the Month
LW East defensive end wins
September competition
Bill Jones, Managing Editor
As a defensive end, Lincoln-Way
East’s Zack Tencza
is tasked with making life
hard for running backs and
keeping the quarterback in a
state of unease in the pocket.
Apparently, Griffins fans
think he has been doing a good
job of just that, as they helped
vote him to 22nd Century Media
Southwest’s September
Athlete of the Month title.
The Athlete of the Month
competition pits featured
Athlete of the Week selections
from our south suburban
newspapers against one another
in an online voting contest.
The next contest is to begin
Monday, Oct. 10.
To vote, visit PAPERSITE.
com, hover over the “Sports”
menu tab and click “Athlete
of the Month.” Readers can
Football
From Page 54
LW East football player
Zack Tencza earned the
most votes to be named
22nd Century Media
Southwest’s September
Athlete of the Month. 22nd
Century Media File Photo
vote once per session per valid
email address. Voting ends
at 5 p.m. Oct. 25.
All athletes featured in the
August Athlete of the Week
sports interviews are automatically
entered into the contest.
handoff up the middle, broke
one tackle and outraced the defense
to the end zone. The jaunt
made it a seven-point game
and energized the Knights.
It then appeared Central
might get the ball back with
a chance to tie the game.
On fourth-and-5 from the
Knights’ 29-yard line, Burtis
took the ball around the right
side of his line and, after a
modest gain, was stopped
by the defense close to a first
down. An official measurement
gave the Boilers a first
down by the nose of the ball.
Bradley would five plays
later, after a goal-line stand
by the Knights defense, kick
a field goal to put the visitors
up 27-17 with just under
three minutes remaining.
The 10-point cushion
would hold up, but not without
a fight. The Knights managed
to get the ball into enemy
territory, but any thoughts
of a last-minute comeback
were thwarted when Bradley’s
Camron Harrell intercepted
a Zach Stoklosa pass
at the Boilers’ 15 yard line.
Cordell was proud of his
team’s effort, though disappointed
with the result, and
emphasized to his players
after the game that they will
learn and grow from the defeat.
“To have the goal-line
stand and hold them to a field
goal, that’s a credit to our
kids, but just telling you the
truth, they’re not happy with
that,” Cordell said. “We have
an expectation that defense
is king around here, and if
a team is driving the ball on
us, our kids are not satisfied.
We might have had a stop at
the goal line, but [accepting]
that’s not part of our culture.
We have high expectations
and we thought we should
have played better.”