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lockportlegend.com SPORTS
the Lockport Legend | September 28, 2017 | 45
Football
Porters unable to complete rally in homecoming loss to Andrew
Thunderbolts win
without throwing a
pass
Randy Whalen
Freelance Reporter
The first words from Cole
Griffin following last week’s
emotional win told the tale.
“I’m exhausted,” the Andrew
senior said.
With good reason. All
Griffin did was run the ball
31 times for 170 yards and a
touchdown. For good measure,
he doubled at cornerback
on defense and punted
the ball on special teams. In
other words, he did his part in
helping the Thunderbolts to
their biggest victory in years,
a 17-14 win over Lockport
Township in a SouthWest
Suburban Conference battle
before a homecoming crowd
on Friday, Sept. 22, at Lockport.
“I [was] working hard out
there,” Griffin added after his
exhausted statement. “This
was the biggest game of the
year, and we were ready.”
It was the second straight
three-point win for Andrew
(3-2, 2-2), which defeated
host Bradley-Bourbonnais
28-25 the week before. Two
more victories and the T-
Bolts, who were 1-8 last season,
are playoff eligible.
The Porters (1-4, 0-3), who
defeated Andrew 42-16 in
Week 5 last season en route
to six wins, lost for the fourth
straight week and will have
to win out to have any opportunity
for the playoffs.
“Last year, we were 1-8,
and that stuck with us,” Andrew
senior quarterback Jack
Condon said. “We put in the
work, and that’s paid off. It
was great to come here and
get this victory. It was their
homecoming, but we brought
a large crowd, too.”
Andrew’s Cole Griffin (left) and Tommy Piekarz tackle
Lockport’s Austin Hoffman in the homecoming game
Friday, Sept. 22, at LTHS. Mark Korosa/22nd Century Media
The T-Bolt backers saw
something that doesn’t happen
often. Their team did
not attempt a pass the entire
game.
Instead, their ball-control
offense dominated. Andrew
held the ball for 30 minutes
and 19 seconds and racked
up all of its 261 yards on the
ground.
“I believe that’s the first
time since I’ve been here that
we haven’t passed,” Andrew
second-year coach Adam
Lewandowski said. “My
coaches told me early on that
if your game plan is working
and the kids are executing,
then there is no reason to get
away from it.”
It worked perfectly on the
T-Bolts’ first two drives. In
the opening march of the
game, they went 61 yards, including
a 5-yard Porter penalty,
took nearly eight minutes
off the clock and scored
when Condon (14 carries,
31 yards) barreled in from
6 yards out with 4 minutes
and 8 seconds left in the first
quarter.
“We’re a run-first offense,”
Condon said. “I don’t have to
pass if I don’t need to. Cole
put us on his back, and the
offensive line was dominant.
“We need five wins to possibly
make the playoffs. We
know that going forward.”
The Porters tried to answer,
but after going 53 yards
in just five plays to set up a
second-and-4 situation at
the Andrew 18, they gained
1 yard, threw an incomplete
pass and were sacked on
fourth down, as the red zone
woes that have plagued them
all season continued.
Andrew came right back
and marched 77 yards in 10
plays. Griffin had the big run
on the drive, a 37-yard gallop,
that would have been
even longer if the T-Bolts
didn’t have an illegal block
on the play. Griffin ended
up taking it in from 5 yards
out with 8:19 left in the second
quarter, and sophomore
Peyton Benes added the extra
point for a 14-0 advantage.
“We were ready,” Griffin
said. “The line blocked really
well, and the wide receiver
did a great job blocking
for me in the open field. I
couldn’t have done it without
them.”
The Andrew offensive line
was junior Kadden Heatherwick
at left tackle, senior
Kyle Manzi at left guard, junior
Adam Jumah at center,
senior Austin O’Connor at
right guard and senior Yousef
Samara at right tackle.
After an exchange of
punts, the Porters finally got
moving on offense. They
went 61 yards in seven plays
and scored on a 12-yard TD
pass from junior quarterback
Jacob Karli to senior wideout
Austin Hoffman with 57.4
seconds left in the first half.
That cut the lead to 14-7, and
it remained there at halftime.
Karli (9-of-18, 104 yards TD
, INT) was 4-of-4 on that
drive, all of them to Hoffman
(6 receptions, 79 yards), for
58 yards.
Lockport hoped to carry
that momentum into the second
half. But after getting
one first down on the ensuing
drive to open the third quarter,
they had to punt.
“In the first half, they
won the battle of the rushing
game,” Lockport coach Dan
Starkey said of the T-Bolts.
“We stayed away from giving
up the big play, but overall
their run game did the job.
We needed to get a few stops
and first downs of our own in
the first half, and we really
didn’t. Then, we got the ball
to start the second half, and
we have to be able to drive
for some points there.”
To make matters worse for
the Porters, they turned the
ball over when senior defensive
back Sean Callaghan
intercepted Karli on the next
possession at his own 42.
From there, Andrew drove to
a first-and-goal at the 5. An
apparent touchdown run by
Griffin was called back for
holding, but Benes knocked
a 21-yard field goal through
the uprights for what was
then a 17-7 lead. Those
proved to be the winning
points.
After an exchange of punts
and a key stop by senior defensive
end Haleem Ajibola,
the Porters got the ball back
midway through the fourth
quarter. Karli (13 carries, 56
yards) had a 26-yard run, as
they drove 56 yards in six
plays and scored on a 9-yard
TD burst by senior running
back Tavares Moore (15 carries,
70 yards) with 4:23 remaining
in the game. Junior
Ryan Barth added the extra
point, and that cut the lead to
17-14.
Andrew gained one first
down, but senior defensive
back Jonathan Savage was
there to make a big tackle for
loss and help force a punt.
Out of timeouts, the Porters
got the ball back on their own
37 with 1:05 left in the game.
Karli quickly completed
three straight passes, including
two to senior Nick Ward
(3 catches, 25 yards) and had
a second-and-3 situation at
the Andrew 40.
Another 10 yards and they
would be in realistic field
goal range. But with the time
running down, Karli was
forced to spike the ball to stop
the clock on second down.
On third-and-3, he rolled to
his right, but everyone was
covered, and he ran out of
bounds for a 3-yard loss.
On fourth down from the
43, Karli’s pass sailed high
with 11.6 seconds remaining,
and Andrew ran out the clock
to register back-to-back wins
for the first time since Weeks
7 and 8 of the 2014 season.
In the meantime, the four
losses in a row are the most
for the Porters since they
opened the 2014 season 0-4.
“We battled all the way,
and I’m proud of the kids for
that,” Starkey said. “We were
running against the clock [at
the end], and we didn’t execute
there. We just have to
get better. Defensively, we
have to be able to force a
turnover. We had two even
teams [with Andrew], and
it’s disappointing to come
up short. Hopefully, we can
play well [this Friday, Sept.
29], at Bolingbrook.”
Pee-wee
soccer coming
to Central
Square
Submitted by the Lockport
Township Park District
The Lockport Township
Park District is to offer a
Kick it Right Indoor Pee-
Wee Soccer Academy for
ages 3-6 years in October.
The academy is to take
place on Sundays beginning
Oct. 22 through Dec. 3.
Children ages 3-4 play from
3-4 p.m. and children ages
5-6 play from 4-5 p.m. at
Central Square Gym, 222 E.
Ninth St., Lockport.
Pee-Wee Soccer is a
child’s first opportunity to
experience the excitement of
playing an organized sport.
The fundamentals of soccer
are to be taught while dividing
up the players evenly
into teams for recreational
scrimmages.
Participants are asked to
bring a soccer ball and shin
guards. The fee is $99 for
residents and nonresidents.
For more information, visit
www.lockportpark.org or
call (815) 838-3621 ext. 0.