NL_101316

More documents

Recommendations

Info

46 | October 13, 2016 | The New Lenox Patriot sports newlenoxpatriot.com Knights respond after Raiders’ second-half surge, win 42-28 Jason Maholy Freelance Reporter With Lincoln-Way Central holding a 20-7 lead over Bolingbrook at halftime, Knights head coach Jeremy Cordell emphasized to his players the importance of finishing what they started. The second-year coach knew the Raiders – despite being dominated in the first half – weren’t going down without a fight. Bolingbrook has established itself as one of the premier football programs in the southwest suburbs over the past decade, during which it has qualified for the playoffs every season while averaging 8.5 wins per campaign. So, the chances were good they weren’t going to fade quietly into the night in front of their home crowd. Sure enough, The Brook came roaring back, scoring two third-quarter touchdowns and another moments into the final stanza to take a 28-20 lead over the stunned Knights. “They dug in and gave us a fight; the third quarter they came back and made it a very interesting ballgame,” Cordell said. Interesting. Exciting. At times almost unbelievable. Central, staggered but not felled by the flurry of punches thrown at them in the first 13 minutes of the second half, scored three times in the fourth quarter and walked out of Bolingbrook with a season-defining 42-28 victory. The Knights (5-2, 4-2) would likely get into the playoffs with five wins, due to their strength of schedule, but are now one victory from locking up a berth in the postseason. Central battles winless Andrew Friday, Oct. 14 in Tinley Park. “Credit to our kids, what they did in the fourth quarter,” Cordell said. “In order to go and do what you want to do in [the playoffs] you’ve got to be able to win these types of games and be resilient and ELITE SPORTS TRAINING ATHLETES INSIDE-OUT 815.221.6000 • Oct 22 - Dec 10 • Saturdays - 8 Weeks • $150-$180 per player • Ages 5-6 & 7-9 www.bjesLockport.com Matt Pollack leaps for a catch over a Bolingbrook defender. take so many counter-punches. Bolingbrook threw a heck of a counter-punch tonight, and our kids responded. “Our message at halftime was that we have to finish, and the third quarter we hit some bumpy spots, but nobody lost their composure on the sidelines. We said we’ve got to finish the job and find a way to do this.” The Knights did it with a total team effort, and several players stepped up to play the role of hero. Dynamic playmaker Matt Pollack totaled 270 yards from scrimmage (197 receiving, 73 rushing) and scored two touchdowns; running back Mike Morgan rushed for 89 yards and the clinching 46-yard score; and running back Zach Stoklosa completed both of his pass attempts for 115 yards and two touchdowns. Nico Muto, one of the team’s senior leaders who missed the past four games with an injury, scored what proved to be the gamewinning touchdown on a one-yard plunge with 3:37 remaining in the contest. “It felt great,” Muto said about simply being back the field. “I said ‘it’s about time,’ it’s been too long. I was so pumped up for the game.” Muto’s game-winning blast into the end zone was a fitting welcome back for the 240-pound fullback. “There was no way I wasn’t scoring right there, it felt great,” he said. “I missed four games already and it was just great to score and be a part of it – I felt like I was part of the win. This was a great win and we needed this; this is going to help get us far.” The Central defense, meanwhile, sacked Bolingbrook signal-callers five times, intercepted a pass and contributed to the scoring when Michael Cepolski returned a fumble for a touchdown. The prevention corps appeared to be in shambles after allowing three touchdowns in a 10-minute span in the second half – although two of those scores came after blocked punts gave the Bolingbrook offense short fields with which to work – but held strong when it mattered most. The Knights’ ‘D’ seemed to draw inspiration from an offense that picked them up after a tough third quarter. After giving up a 13-point lead and then falling behind by eight early in the fourth, the Central offense put together a 66-yard drive that concluded with the play that was the turning point of the game. Facing fourthand-10 from Bolingbrook’s 35-yard line, Stoklosa took a Lincoln-Way Central running back Nico Muto breaks through tackles Friday, Oct. 7 during a road matchup at Bolingbrook. Photos by Jason Maholy/22nd Century Media pitch from quarterback Hunter Campbell and launched a high-arcing pass toward the end zone. Pollack, who has made a habit of making acrobatic plays, went up with a defender and ripped the ball away as the two fell into the end zone. Pollack gave the credit for the play to Stoklosa, who played quarterback in youth football and has attempted at least two passes on halfback options in nearly every game this season, and has four touchdown tosses to show for it. “He’s a kid that can play all over the field – receiver, running back, quarterback,” Pollack said of Stoklosa. “And we just practice that. Credit the coaches for putting it in, it’s a play that’s going to work. He put the ball there for me to make a play and I was able to make it.” Pollack, however, wasn’t finished. The Knights, down 28-26, elected to go for the two-point conversion and called his number again. Campbell threw a fade toward the rear right corner of the end zone, and Pollack – with a defender draped all over him – made a onehanded grab of a tipped pass, at the same time maintaining the awareness to get his left foot in-bounds before falling to the ground. “It was a good throw, putting it up there for a 50-50 ball, and I was able to come up with it,” Pollack said. “I’m trying to do whatever I can for my team. I came from [Lincoln-Way] East and was a wide receiver there, and [Central] moved me to running back, so whatever I can do to help the team is what I’m going to do.” Stoklosa and Pollack also hooked up on the first play of the game, when the former found the latter wide open on a slant over the middle of the field for a 79-yard catch-andrun that opened the scoring just 18 seconds into the contest. “It gives the team a ton of energy,” Stoklosa said of the halfback option – when it works. “It always gets the team going, shifts the momentum for us to play well. The defense gets hyped up, we all get hyped up and start playing well. “This (win) shows we can do anything we put our minds to. We know we can beat any team, we just have to put our minds to it.”
newlenoxpatriot.com Sports The New Lenox Patriot | October 13, 2016 | 47 fastbreak 1st-and-3 Jason Maholy/22nd Century Media Great golfers 1. Nolan Hullinger (ABOVE) The senior chose the right time to have a career performance, as he shot a 78 to help the LW West advance to sectionals as a team. 2. Ricky Costello The Providence senior continues to prove why he’s one of the best golfers in the state by way of a 6-under 66 to take home the individual title at regionals. 3. West girls golf Hannah Slater (81), Sydney Valiska (90) and Sarah Scheer (career-low 86) advanced as individuals. Football Celtics lose steam in second half, lose to Friars 35-28 Chris Walker Freelance Reporter Providence had an unforgettable second quarter Friday, Oct. 7, during its game against Fenwick at Triton College in River Grove. Unfortunately, the Celtics also had a second half that they’d like to forget as quickly as humanly possibly. In a game during which Providence rallied, and then seized momentum by heading into halftime with a lead, they’d be held scoreless the rest of the way while Fenwick came back for a 35-28 victory. The loss dropped the Celtics to 3-4 with just two games left to play. The way the game started, it looked like the Celtics were going to be in for a long night as they fell behind early, 10-0. “When we got down, we said we have to score, and we’ve had it happen before where we got down early and it took the air out of us,” said Providence quarterback Jared Drake. “We fought back and PRESSBOX PICKS Our staff’s predictions for the top games in Week 8 Lincoln-Way East (6-1) at Bradley-Bourbonnais (7-0) Lockport (5-2) at Stagg (0-7) Sandburg (2-5) at Fort Zumwalt West (5-3) Providence Catholic (3-4) at Loyola Academy (7-0) Andrew (0-7) hosts Lincoln-Way Central (5-2) this was another one that we really wanted bad.” Overcoming that wasn’t a problem, though, as the Celtics had an extremely productive second quarter in all facets of the game. Drake connected with Richie Warfield on a short pass that turned into a 67- yard touchdown just 59 seconds into the second quarter. Next, it was the Celtics defense forcing a fumble, which was recovered by Dylan Davalos. They took advantage as once again, and Drake came up big, connecting with Caden Kalinowski for a 40-yard touchdown that gave the Celtics their first lead at 14-10 with 8:41 still left in the first half. Fenwick answered with a touchdown of its own to reclaim the lead at 17-14, but it lasted no longer than the time it took Providence’s Gaosh Williams to return the ensuing kickoff 97 yards for a touchdown and 21-17 lead. A field goal from the Friars cut Providence’s lead to 26-9 Tom Czaja | Contributing Editor • LW East 34, Bradley 20. The Griffins travel south and hand the Boilermakers their first loss. • Lockport • Fort Zumwalt West • Loyola • LW Central 21-20, but the Celtics closed the first half on another tremendous play by Drake and Warfield, this one going for 52 yards to give Providence a modest 28-20 advantage at halftime. “We spread them out and got Richie not only running the ball but receiving it too,” Drake said. “We had some good plays, but in the second half Fenwick adjusted really well and we didn’t execute some of the stuff we were running.” Unfortunately, the Celtics would be held scoreless in the second half. Conner Lillig’s third touchdown of the game, a 7-yard run, allowed the Friars to tie the game as they also converted the all-important two-point conversion. It’s not the first time a two-point conversion has haunted the Celtics as they also lost to St. Rita in OT on a game decided by such a play. The Friars scored the gamewinning touchdown on their next possession in the third quarter as quarterback Jacob Max Lapthorne | Contributing Editor • LW East 31, Bradley 21. East picks up a huge road win, as the playoffs approach. • Lockport • Fort Zumwalt West • Loyola • LW Central 25-10 Keller found an opening and took it in for the 22-yard score. The Providence defense would come up big the rest of the way, but the Celtics proved unable to put points on the scoreboard, although they did put together a solid drive in the final minute. After Drake was sacked, the Celtics were forced to attempt a Hail Mary-type play as time expired. His pass went untouched as it landed harmlessly near the goal line. It’s must-win time now for the Celtics if they hope to avoid missing the playoffs for the second consecutive season. They face the daunting task of traveling to undefeated Loyola Academy on Saturday before closing against a Mount Carmel (4- 3) team, that’s far better than their record, much like you could say about the Celtics. “We felt that Fenwick was a must-win game because these last two games are so tough,” Drake said. “As seniors we don’t want to experience another losing season 25-10 Tim Carroll | Contributing Editor • Bradley 30, LW East 27. I saw Morion Burtis in person earlier this year, and I don’t want to bet against him. • Lockport • Fort Zumwalt West • Loyola • LW Central 21-14 Joe Coughlin | Publisher • LW East 48, Bradley 28. Griffins outpace Boilers in track meet. • Lockport • Fort Zumwalt West • Loyola • LW Central so we’ll just lay it all out next week and try to play all four quarters. That’s something we haven’t done all season with a bad half, or quarter or a couple plays.” The unfortunate reality for the Celtics is that they’ve proven that they’re a very good team, but one that cannot overcome such a difficult schedule. Losing two really close games to Fenwick and St. Rita also didn’t help. That said, some teams boast better records and will make the playoffs simply because they play a lesser schedule. Consider Marmion Academy. The Cadets are 5-2 and were pummeled by Fenwick, 47-7 on Oct. 1. That’s a running clock game whereas the Celtics nearly run past the Friars. “Being 3-4, having a losing record, it eats at us,” Drake said. “It’s tough knowing there are teams 6-1 or 5-2 that haven’t played great competition but we know we’re in a premier conference and play tough non-conference games.” 18-17 Heather Warthen | Chief Operating Officer • Bradley 24 LW East 21 Home field advantage will play into this one. • Lockport • Fort Zumwalt West • Loyola • LW Central LISTEN UP “If this team can play to our potential, there’s no stopping us.” Brianne Bolden — Lincoln-Way Central girls golfer, on the high aspirations she has for the Knights in the postseason TUNE IN Football 7:30 p.m. Friday, Oct. 14 • The Lincoln-Way West football team will host Thornridge in its last home game of the regular season. INDEX 41 – Boys Soccer 41 – Athlete of the Week FASTBREAK is compiled by Editor James Sanchez. Send any questions or comments to james@newlenoxpatriot.com, or call (708) 326-9170 ext. 48.
Page 1 and 2: ® new lenox’s Award-Winning Home
Page 3 and 4: 2 | October 13, 2016 | The New Leno
Page 5 and 6: newlenoxpatriot.com news The New Le
Page 7 and 8: newlenoxpatriot.com new lenox The N
Page 9 and 10: newlenoxpatriot.com New lenox The N
Page 11 and 12: newlenoxpatriot.com school The New
Page 17 and 18: newlenoxpatriot.com sound off The N
Page 19 and 20: the new lenox patriot | October 13,
Page 21 and 22: newlenoxpatriot.com life & arts The
Page 25 and 26: newlenoxpatriot.com real estate The
Page 27 and 28: newlenoxpatriot.com local living Th
Page 29 and 30: newlenoxpatriot.com classifieds The
Page 41 and 42: newlenoxpatriot.com sports The New
Page 43 and 44: newlenoxpatriot.com sports The New
Page 45: newlenoxpatriot.com sports The New

NL_101316

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?