NL_092018

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the New Lenox Patriot | September 20, 2018 | 37
Football
Dozier, Tyk return kicks as Warriors fly past Thornridge
Sean Hastings
Freelance Reporter
The Lincoln-Way West
football team gained and lost
the momentum before the
clock dipped below 9 minutes,
30 seconds remaining
in the first quarter.
Junior wide receiver Billy
Dozier made sure the latter
never happened again and
the rest of the Warriors followed
suit and pulled out a
57-14 win over Thornridge
Friday, Sept. 14 at West.
Nothing puts a stop to a
momentum swing like the
opposing team scoring on
its first play from scrimmage
right after you scored
a touchdown in two minutes.
Thornridge running back
Elijah Harris broke free for
an 85-yard touchdown run
on the first play following
the Warrior touchdown.
Cue Billy Dozier.
Dozier took the ensuing
kickoff 70 yards to the end
zone to get West’s blood
pumping and crowd rocking
once again.
He caught the ball at his
own 30-yard line and once
he got to the opposite 40
it was like he picked up a
“star” power up from Mario
Kart and sped away from the
Falcons’ kick-off team invincible
to their attack.
“It felt great [to return the
kick],” Dozier said. “I just
waited for the gap to open up
and I just hit it. Once I got
past everybody, I didn’t want
to get caught so I just ran for
my life.”
And run he did. Once he
made it to the end zone he
was met by a bevy of Warriors,
who just got done
opening that gap for Dozier.
“I turned around and they
were all running for me,”
Dozier said.
West scored 35 straight
points and took a 49-6 lead
into halftime.
box score
The spot where Dozier
caught the ball was not
where he usually is set up
on kick off. Coach Mike
Villa moved Dozier from being
the deep returner to the
wing because that is where
the first Thornridge kick off
landed.
Head coach Dave Ernst
called Dozier’s kick return
“huge.”
Not to be out-done, senior
defensive back/punt returner
Aidan Tyk took a Thornridge
punt 55 yards for a score later
in the half to make it 35-6.
Tyk was aggressive on not
only opting to catch the punt,
but also making his original
break up field.
“I was a little indecisive
when I first caught it, but
then my teammates found
me some gaps and I just hit
them,” Tyk said.
Once Tyk beat the Thornridge
player on the outside,
he felt like taking it all the
way for a score was possible,
he said.
“Your punt returner has
to be one of your high-character
guys and one that you
trust,” Ernst said. “It’s tough
[returning punts], it really is.
The right guy [Tyk] is back
there. A high character guy
that is going to catch the ball
every time.”
He said he hopes he can
continue to be aggressive on
catching punts, rather than
1 2 3 4 F
Thornridge 6 0 8 0 14
West 28 21 0 8 57
Top Performers
1. Billy Dozier.
70-yard kick return touchdown.
2. Aidan Tyk.
55-yard punt return, one tackle on defense.
3. Kevin Wyness.
Touchdown reception, 57 REC yards, second straight
game with a TD
letting them bounce to him
and going from there.
Special teams is something
West has always taken
pride in.
“We work three special
teams per day and it’s something
we take a lot of pride
in and the kids do too,” Ernst
said. “They know how important
it is.”
From special teams, to defense,
to offense, Ernst was
proud with how the Warriors
played. The defense, minus
the 85-yard run by Harris,
gave up only 122 yards.
And offensively, for the
second straight game, the
Warriors racked up over 300
yards. The Warriors rushed
for 213 yards and junior running
back Caleb Marconi led
that charge with 75 yards
and two touchdowns.
Admittedly, Ernst would
like to see a few drops get
cleaned up. Grimm was 5-8
for 107 yards and one touchdown,
which was caught by
senior wide receiver Kevin
Wyness for a 4-yard score.
Wyness caught a touchdown
pass last week against
Bradley.
But the passes the Warriors
dropped in the red zone were
plays they had not worked
on as much, with one being
a play with Dozier cutting
hard across the middle in
front of the safety. Grimm’s
bullet pass just tipped off
Lincoln-Way West wide receiver Billy Dozier shakes off a Thornridge tackler Friday, Sept.
14, during a SWSC Red matchup between the two teams in New Lenox. Photos by Bob
Klein/22nd Century Media
Johnny Latek dives to take down a Thornridge ball carrier.
Dozier’s fingers, but he still
found an opening, which did
shed positive light.
Being up 49-6 at the end
of the first half started a running
clock for the entirety of
the second half and allowed
the second-string players to
take the snaps.
Backup junior quarterback
Brody Ceh highlighted the
second half with a 27-yard
run touchdown run to extend
the lead to 57-14 in the
fourth quarter, channeling
his inner Grimm, who nearly
did the same thing against
Bradley.
But that came as no surprise
to Ernst.
“Brody is a lot like Greyson
[Grimm],” Ernst said.
“He’s a 3.8 [GPA], he’s
smart and he’s tough. He’s
going to be on the kickoff
team here, too. He’s just a
tough guy and a good player.
Every time he gets his opportunity,
he takes advantage
of it. We’re really happy
with Brody.”
Since losing to Central,
which the players still highlight
as what will be the turning
point, the Warriors have
picked up two straight wins.
West improved to 3-1 with
the win over Thornridge and
is feasting its eyes on Friday’s
undefeated opponent,
Homewood-Flossmoor, on
the road.