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The New Lenox Patriot | October 13, 2016 | 45
Missed opportunities lead West to third straight loss
RANDY WHALEN
Freelance Reporter
Being outgained by over
100 yards at halftime and
having no points, things certainly
weren’t going well for
the Lockport Township football
team.
So with the Porters in
search of some sort of spark,
senior defensive back Eric
Jungheim had some advice.
“Just have fun.”
Lockport took that advice
to heart as Josh Baker finished
with a pair of fumble
recoveries and Ben Davis
threw a pair of TD passes.
That sparked a big 14-7 victory
over Lincoln-Way West
in a SouthWest Suburban
Conference clash on Friday,
Oct. 7 in Lockport.
It was the first ever meeting
between the two teams.
The victory makes the Porters
(5-2, 3-2) playoff eligible
and gives them their
most wins in a season since
2011. West (4-3, 2-2), a
Class 5A state finalist last
season, lost its third straight.
“We had to wake up, in
the first half we didn’t have
any energy,” Baker, a senior,
said. “But Eric Jungheim
kept saying, ‘just have fun,
just have fun,’ so we did.”
Baker had fun when he
sacked senior quarterback
Cal Pohrte from behind,
stripped the ball and recovered
it at the Warrior 28-
yard line. Six plays later,
on third-and-goal, Davis hit
Tavares Moore (20 carriesfor-95
yards) on a 9-yard TD
pass to put Lockport ahead
14-7 with 6:40 to play in the
game.
“We knew we had to shut
them down, and in the second
half they weren’t going
to score,” Baker said. “We
stepped up big time. [On the
strip sack] I just got around
and beat my guy on the outside.”
Baker has been one of the
leaders for the Porter defense
all season.
“Our D-line, the guys up
front, especially Josh Baker
had a monster game,” Lockport
coach Dan Starkey said.
“We stuck with the game
plan and this is awesome
for the kids. Just the type
of game that we expected.
We’re extremely happy to
win on senior night.
“It’s a big win, but no one
wants to go into the playoffs
with just 5 wins. We want
more.”
After the Warriors reached
the Lockport 30, Baker had
an 8-yard sack on first down.
That ultimately led to West
turning the ball over on
downs at the Lockport 32
with 1:21 to play and the
game appeared to be over
then.
But the Porters were
forced to punt with 19.5 seconds
remaining. Jake Price
then blocked Davis’ punt,
and fellow junior teammate
Alex Croft picked it up at the
Lockport 38-yard line. He
ran down the left sideline,
but senior Nicholas Dado -
who earlier had an interception,
tackled him at the 15-
yard line with 9.3 seconds
left on the clock.
Pohrte (23-of-39 passing,
251 yards, TD, INT) had
time for two pass plays to try
to tie or win the game. But
they fell incomplete and the
Porters prevailed.
“That was huge,” Starkey
said of Dado’s tackle. “We
certainly didn’t want to get
to that situation, but that was
a huge tackle to help save
the game.”
Earlier in the half Lockport
got on the board when
Davis (10-of-25, 154 yards,
2 TDs, INT) connected with
fellow senior Patrick Cooper
(5 receptions-for-103
yards) on a 74-yard touchdown
pass with 5:43 left
in the third quarter. Before
that play the Porters had 109
yards in the game.
Earlier in the second half
Davis tried a deep ball to
Cooper, but had it intercepted
by junior Matt Murphy.
“He by far is the best
defense back I’ve faced,”
Cooper said of Murphy. “He
brought a challenge and I really
respected his game.
“But I knew if Ben put
the ball out there, I’d make
the play. We’ve been doing
this since freshman year. We
wanted to make the playoffs,
but we’re not done yet. I feel
like we still haven’t reached
our potential.”
West scored on a thirdand-goal
play with 7:20 left
in the second quarter when
Pohrte had a 3-yard TD pass
to junior tight end Kevin Davis,
capping an 11-play, 67-
yard drive. Davis (5 receptions,
36 yards), junior wide
receiver Kevin Gerardy (6
receptions, 74 yards) and
senior running back Justin
LaBuhn (6 receptions, 83
yards) were the leading receivers
for the Warriors.
But missed opportunities
is what hurt them. They saw
the game-opening 13-play,
75 yard drive, which took
7:15 off the clock, end at the
Porter 5 when Baker recovered
a fumble.
Later in the quarter, after
forcing a punt, West got the
ball back at the Porter 38.
The Warriors got one first
down, but stalled at the 26.
Senior Brock Krohe then
missed a 44-yard field goal
wide right with 1:20 left in
the opening quarter.
The Porters had one big
play in the first half. That
was a 40-yard run by Moore,
who returned after missing
the previous game for being
ineligible that week, down to
the West 30. However, a bad
snap over Davis’ head and a
personal foul penalty ended
that opportunity.
At halftime the Warriors
had a total yard advantage
of 195-to-94 and held the
ball for 17:07 compared to
just 6:53 for Lockport. West
Running back Ryan Robbins (No. 20) breaks through the first line of defense and into open
field Friday, Oct. 7, during a matchup against Lockport.
photos by Adam Jomant/22nd Century Media
Justin LaBuhn, who finished with six receptions for 83 yards, runs with the ball.
finished with a 326-to-240
advantage in yards and had
a 19-11 edge in first downs,
but had a trio of turnovers
while only forcing one.
“We played hard, we really
did,” West coach Dave
Ernst said. “But Lockport
has two great defensive ends
in [Baker] and [senior David
Balderrama], and they did a
good job pass rushing. I also
thought our defense did a
great job to hold them down.
“We just made critical errors
and critical times and
this 3-game losing streak is a
first for me. We have to win
out to get in [the playoffs],
but our guys will answer the
bell.”
The Warriors got good
news with the return of Jake
Dudeck to the lineup. The
senior linebacker had suffered
an injury in the first
half of the opening game.
In the sophomore game,
West did complete a comeback
for a 28-24 victory.
The Warriors had a long
TD drive in the final minute
which culminated on a
2-yard TD run by Donte’
Barber with 3.2 seconds to
play in the game