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tinleyjunction.com sports
The tinley junction | September 13, 2018 | 45
Andrew suffers first loss to No. 1 LW East
JON DEPAOLIS
Freelance Reporter
Facing the prospect of
taking on a fellow unbeaten
team who was also coming
off a short week of practice
did nothing to stymie Lincoln-Way
East’s hot start to
the 2018 season.
Putting forth a smothering
defense and a highpowered
offense, East (3-0)
dispatched Andrew 42-0 Friday,
Sept. 7, in Frankfort.
The Griffins’ defense held
the T-Bolts to just 129 total
yards of offense in the game
— most of which came in the
second half, as the T-Bolts
gained 73 yards in the fourth
quarter. East only gave up
a total of 49 yards rushing
to the T-Bolts — impressive,
considering Andrew’s
option-heavy offense. Also,
with many Week 2 games
being moved to Saturday
because thunderstorms, the
Griffins only had four days
to prepare.
“As coaches, we kind of
know what to look for — but
to have our kids learn that in
a short work week of three
or four days was good,” East
coach Rob Zvonar said.
Andrew opened the season
2-0 with victories over
We’re not exactly sure what possessed Heather to go
off on an island and pick Bremen over Tinley Park
but we should all be possessed like that. Heather
re-takes sole possession of first place thanks in part
to that Brave pick.
Game of the Week:
• Lincoln-Way Central (2-1) at Lockport
(0-3)
Other Games to Watch
• Lincoln-Way East (3-0) at Sandburg (2-1)
• Lemont (1-2) at Tinley Park (2-1)
• Bradley (2-1) at Andrew (2-1)
• Thornridge (1-3) at Lincoln-Way West (2-1)
• Providence (3-0) at St. Rita (1-2)
Andrew’s John Bickel upends Lincoln-Way East’s Matt Judd on Friday night, Sept. 7, in
Frankfort but on the scoreboard, East upended Andrew. JULIE MCMANN/22ND CENTURY MEDIA
Thornton and Bloom but
struggled against the defending
Class 8A champions and
a team that is ranked first in
the state by the Associated
Press.
For the T-Bolts, quarterback
Tom Schiller led the
way. He went 5-of-17 passing
for 80 yards, while also
rushing for 26 yards on six
attempts.
Andrew running back
John Bickel accounted for 74
receiving yards on four receptions,
and he also rushed
eight times for 23 yards.
Rocco Iannantone netted 28
yards on six carries, and had
a first-half interception.
Andrew coach Adam Lewandowski
complimented
East’s defensive line and defensive
line coaches after the
game.
“They do a fantastic job,
and my hat is off to them,”
he said. “They are a very solid,
very good program. They
do everything right. They
OUR STAFF’S PREDICTIONS FOR THE AREA GAMES IN WEEK 4
18-3
Heather Warthen |
Chief Operating Officer
• Lincoln-Way Central 27, Lockport
7. Knights should roll past Porters
pretty easily.
• Lincoln-Way East
• Tinley Park
• Andrew
• Lincoln-Way West
• Providence
17-4
Joe Coughlin |
Publisher
• Lincoln-Way Central 28, Lockport 7.
Not picking against the Knights (my
alma mater) again. Well-rounded
LWC will run away here.
• Lincoln-Way East
• Lemont
• Andrew
• Lincoln-Way West
• Providence
16-5
Jeff Vorva |
Sports Editor
• Lincoln-Way Central 35, Lockport 14.
The Porters almost broke into the win
column against Thornton but have an
uphill climb against the Knights after
three games away from home.
• Lincoln-Way East
• Lemont
• Andrew
• Lincoln-Way West
• St. Rita
are the defending champions
for a reason.”
A bright spot for the T-
Bolts was the second half, as
the offense was able to gain
102 yards. That included
going 5-for-15 in the passing
game, getting some big
yardage plays.
“We really felt like there
were some open opportunities
in their secondary,
and that’s what we wanted
to try to do — make some
throws,” Lewandowski said.
15-6
Tom Czaja |
Contributing Editor
• Lincoln-Way Central 24, Lockport
13. Porters showed improvement
last week and will play hard in
home opener, but Knights still take
this one.
• Lincoln-Way East
• Lemont
• Bradley
• Lincoln-Way West
• Providence
ANDREW AT LW EAST, SEPT. 7
1 2 3 4 F
Andrew 0 0 0 0 0
LW East 7 14 14 7 42
Top Performers:
1. Devon Williams (LWE) 111 rushing yards, 3 TDs
2. Jack Baltz (LWE) 172 passing yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT
3. John Bickel (Andrew) 74 receiving yards, 23 rushing yards
“We had some real openings,
but we weren’t making
the connections. We were
not getting the ball to the
receiver. [Schiller] stood in
there, though. It was a gutsy
performance.
“Now, you go back and
figure out what you can do
better. You get better, and
you get healthy again, and
play next week.”
On the other side, Zvonar
complimented Lewandowski
and the Andrew program.
“That program is improving
on a daily basis, and
they are a much better team
than even just a year ago,”
Zvonar said. “We were very
impressed with them.”
East senior linebacker
Gus Christensen credited his
coaches for the defense’s play.
“During our preparation,
Coach Z always tells us to
take it one play at a time,”
Christensen said. “Don’t
15-6
James Sanchez |
Contributing Editor
• Lincoln-Way Central 28, Lockport
7. The Knights and Porters are in
different classes at this point of
the season.
• Lincoln-Way East
• Lemont
• Bradley
• Lincoln-Way West
• Providence
look forward to the next
drive — just one play at a
time, keep focused and get
the task done.”
Paving the way for the
Griffins’ dominant defensive
performance were senior
linebackers Christensen and
Danny Scianna, and senior
defensive lineman Dylan
Shelton, all of whom recorded
a sack in the game.
Zvonar said East’s stout
run defense is a mindset
that has carried over from
the 2017 state title-winning
team into this year’s group.
While East’s base defense
does help with stopping the
run, he said the team has a
philosophy of being a “stop
the run first” team.
Zvonar credited Shelton,
as well as defensive linemen
Jeremiah Dawson, Adrian
Wilson, Mick Stewart and
Sean McLaughlin.
East senior quarterback
Jack Baltz (12-of-20, 172
yards, 2 TDs, INT) also had
a big day, connecting with
senior wide receiver Jackson
Ritter (6 receptions, 112
yards) for two touchdowns
— a 5-yard pass in the second
quarter and a 51-yard,
catch-and-run score in the
third quarter.
East’s final touchdown
came on a 24-yard run by
Cameron Cartee in the
fourth quarter.
The Griffins’ offense did
all of that without star wide
receiver A.J. Henning, who
missed his third straight
game because of an injury.