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46 | August 31, 2017 | The Homer Horizon SPORTS
homerhorizon.com
Lockport defense notches several turnovers in season-opening win
Porters beat
Downers Grove
North for second
straight year
Randy Whalen
Freelance Reporter
The Lockport Township
football team could not be
caught.
Neither could Gabriel
Amegatcher.
Amegatcher returned a
fumble 95 yards for the
clinching touchdown as the
Porters held off Downers
Grove North for a 14-0 victory
in the season-opening
game for both teams Friday,
Aug. 25, at Lockport’s East
Campus.
The second straight season-opening
win is also a
good sign, as Lockport is
now 5-4 against the Trojans
in the past nine openers.
Each year the Porters
have won that matchup with
Downers North, they have
made the playoffs.
It was also the first time
the Porters (1-0) have registered
a shutout in the season
opener since they blanked
Chicago Vocational 26-0 to
kick off the 2007 season.
“This was just a great
team win and a great team
effort,” Lockport coach Dan
Starkey said. “We did a lot
of things well. The team put
in the time and effort in the
offseason workouts, and I’m
so happy that these kids got
rewarded.”
But last week’s outcome
was certainly in doubt until
the final minutes. Starting
at their own 11, the Trojans
drove to the Lockport 6-yard
line. From there, they faced
a third-and-1, and their 13th
play of the drive proved unlucky
for them.
That’s because senior
quarterback Jack Carr rolled
to his left and proceeded to
lose the ball on a possible
pitch out. The ball went forward
a couple of yards and
took a perfect bounce to
Amegatcher, and the senior
defensive back sprinted 95
yards down the right sideline
for the touchdown with 2:10
left in the game.
“I think the quarterback
was trying to pitch the ball,
but he lost it and it took
a perfect bounce right to
me,” Amegatcher said. “I
just grabbed it and started
running down the sideline
as fast as I could. I’ve seen
that happen before, and then
the guy [who recovers the
fumble] gets caught. So all
I kept thinking was, ‘Don’t
get caught, don’t get caught.’
“It was the first time I’ve
ever scored a touchdown on
defense. It was a good win.
We just kept holding them
all night. We had good coverage,
and the defensive line
held them.”
That was definitely a game
changer.
“A scoop and score,” Starkey
said of Amegatcher’s
play. “As a defensive coach,
that’s what you dream
about.”
Downers coach John Wander,
who guided the Trojans
to the 2004 Class 8A state
championship, was dreaming
about what could have
been but was not to be for
his team.
“I was thinking about
whether or not we’d go
for the win or the tie,” said
Wander, believing his team
would score a TD in the final
minutes of regulation. “But
then the ball just popped
up [on the fumble]; it was
a fluke. But that’s what I
get for thinking ahead. Bad
things happened.”
Downers Grove North
reached the Lockport 42 on
the opening possession of
the season but had to punt,
and the ball and was downed
at the Lockport 3. From
there, the Porters embarked
on a 97-yard, 15-play drive
that took 6:20 off the clock.
The march was aided by a
pair of personal foul penalties
on the Trojans, including
one that nullified a Lockport
punt from its own 19.
Junior quarterback Jake
Karli (4-for-9, 25 yards passing)
had the longest play of the
drive, a 16-yard run. Senior
running back Tavares Moore,
who carried the ball eight
times in the drive, capped it
off by diving in from a yard
out with 1:32 left in the first
quarter. Junior Ryan Barth
added the extra point kick.
Moore, who gained over
1,200 yards last year, finished
with 25 carries for 88
yards. He would have had
over 100 yards, but he lost
18 yards on a play early in
the fourth quarter. Because
of the penalties, the Porters
had 67 total yards in offense
on their opening drive. That
was more than half of the
132 total yards they had in
the game.
Downers North had 231
total yards, with 67 of those
coming on the ensuing drive
after the Lockport touchdown.
The Trojans drove
for a first and goal at the
Lockport 7. But Carr (9-of-
17 passing for 89 yards, 15
carries for 59 yards) lost two
yards on a first-down play,
and his next two passes were
both broken up by senior defensive
back Tim Surin.
“After the first one, I was
pretty pumped up,” said Surin,
who broke up a trio of
passes total on that drive.
“We always practice that
goal-line scenario, so I was
ready when the ball came
my way. We wanted to make
a play and get momentum.
“Defensively, we looked
good. It’s fun playing, and I
was ready.”
Porters quarterback Jake Karli breaks away from a defender and looks downfield Friday,
Aug. 25, in the game against Downers Grove North played at home at East Campus.
Photos by Mark Korosa/22nd Century Media
Tim Surin breaks up a pass in the end zone for Lockport.
When the march, which
took 6:08 off the clock,
stalled, the Trojans tried a
26-yard field goal. But the
13th play of that drive was
unlucky, as senior Benjamin
Johnson saw his kick
fall short and drift right with
7:24 left in the first half.
Lockport got to the Trojans
29 early in the fourth
quarter, but Moore lost the
18 yards shortly thereafter,
and the Porters had to punt.
The Trojans held the ball for
over seven minutes before
Amegatcher was in the right
place at the right time for the
huge touchdown return.
Senior linebacker Austin
Hoffman added an interception
for Lockport with 1:46 to
play in the game to clinch the
win. Junior linebacker Will
Cichowski also had a fumble
recovery at his own 43 with
3:49 to play in the third quarter.
The fumble was forced
by senior defensive end Haleem
Ajibola, who was in on
numerous tackles throughout
the evening.
“Haleem had a lot of tackles
and stuffed the run,”
Starkey said. “We have 40
seniors out here, and a lot
of senior leadership that
showed.”
The Porters hope to start
2-0 for the second straight
season when they travel to
South Elgin on Saturday,
Sept. 2, with the varsity
game slated for a 1:30 p.m.
start time.