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38 | December 5, 2019 | the mokena messenger SPORTS mokenamessengerdaily.com Griffins win third state title with historic defensive effort 4 STEVE MILLAR, Sports Editor The members of Lincoln-Way East’s defense hold themselves to a high standard. The Griffins are always chasing perfection, and though they had not allowed an opponent to score more than 14 points all season, they felt they still had not played their best game on the defensive side. “Going throughout the year, we had bits and pieces where we had a quarter or two holding teams to one first down and negative yards,” senior defensive end Sean McLaughlin said. “We just had to pull a full 48 minutes together.” What a time to do it. On a rainy, cold night in DeKalb, the Griffins turned in one of the most dominant defensive performances in IHSA history. East held Warren to 36 total yards, AJ Henning scored the game’s lone touchdown on a 56-yard run, and the Griffins captured the third state title in school history with a 12-0 victory in the Class 8A state championship game Saturday, Nov. 30, at Huskie Stadium. “We laughed a little bit because you look at our scores and we thought we had done pretty good not letting a team score more than two touchdowns a game, then we looked at [Warren’s] scores and they hadn’t let a team score more than one touchdown in a game,” East coach Rob Zvonar said. “You don’t see a high school defense like Warren’s very often, maybe the best I’ve ever seen. “I think our guys wanted to prove that they’re in that conversation, too.” Class 8A State Championship Game, Nov. 30 1 2 3 4 F LW East 0 6 6 0 12 Warren 0 0 0 0 0 Three Stars of the Game: 1. AJ Henning, LW East, senior running back – 29 carries, 125 yards, 56-yard touchdown run 2. Jalen Hacha, LW East, senior defensive back – Interception, six tackles 3. Sean McLaughlin, LW East, senior defensive end – Sack, tackle for loss, fumble recovery The Griffins (14-0) drew motivation all week from the hype surrounding Warren’s defense. The Blue Devils (13-1) had not given up more than seven points in a game and only surrendered 40 points through 13 games. “We have a group chat with all our defensive players and all week, we were texting,” East senior linebacker Jake Kramer said. “It started with just, ‘Beat Warren.’ Then, every day, I was sending a newspaper article that said Warren was the best defensive team in the state, or Warren gives up an average of this and this. “So, we took that into every rep in practice knowing we wanted to come out and prove we were the best defense in the state. We just wanted to come out and make a statement.” The 36 yards allowed shattered the previous record of 156 for fewest yards allowed in a Class 8A state championship game. It was just six yards off the all-class record, as Joliet Catholic held LaSalle-Peru to 30 yards in the 1978 4A championship. “We knew that in order to prove we were the best in the state, we had to go up there and put up a zero,” McLaughlin said. “Doing that solidifies our place as the best defense in the state.” East scored on a pair of second-quarter field goals from Dominic Dzioban of 46 and 45 yards to take a 6-0 lead to halftime. Dzioban took a hard hit to his leg on the second field goal and was taken off the field on a cart but returned to kick in the second half. “I knew this was my last game as a senior, a state championship game,” Dzioban said. “I told [the training staff], ‘I am playing. It could be broken. I will play.’ I wanted to go out with my brothers, with a bang, and we did just that.” The Griffins finally got the big play they had been waiting for to break the game open when Michigan recruit Henning broke free for a 56-yard touchdown run down the right sideline with 2:12 left in the third quarter, a play that was very reminiscent of his two touchdown runs in the 2017 championship game won by East. “We were getting little chunks of yards all night,” Henning said. “Me and Jamal [Johnson] were pounding away at them and we knew it was just a matter of time before we hit that big play. Sam AJ Henning lifts the IHSA Class 8A state championship trophy as his teammates celebrate around him following Lincoln-Way East’s 12-0 win over Warren on Saturday, Nov. 30, at Huskie Stadium in DeKalb. Julie McMann/22nd Century Media Paliga had a great kickout block on the outside to free me up some space. I hit the sideline and it was history from there.” Henning ran for 125 yards on 29 carries in the final game of a brilliant high school career. Johnson added 47 yards on 18 carries as the Griffins won despite not completing a pass. Jalen Hacha had six tackles and an interception to lead the defense, while his brother, Jaron Hacha, and McLaughlin each recorded a sack. The Griffins also won state championships in 2005 and 2017. East had been on a mission ever since falling in the semifinals 24-16 to Loyola last season in what was a shocking end for a team that had outscored opponents 558-70 on its way to a 12-0 start. For the Griffins, the road to redemption is now complete. “I hopped on my computer after I finally got Third time’s a charm A look at Lincoln-Way East’s three football state championships 2005: Griffins 30, Maine South 24 In a two-overtime thriller, quarterback Anthony Kropp’s 1-yard touchdown run in the second overtime was the winner. Kropp threw for 230 yards, including a 14-yard touchdown pass to Joe Mau, who had nine catches for 107 yards. East won the title in just its fifth year in existence. 2017: Griffins 23, Loyola 14 AJ Henning’s touchdown runs of 63 and 42 yards were the highlights as the Griffins defense made key stops to limit Loyola’s scoring despite 354 yards of offense. Brendan Gallagher recorded seven tackles. Brendan Morrissey threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Mason Keenan. 2019: Griffins 12, Warren 0 Behind the most dominant defensive performance in 8A championship game history, East won its second title in three years. Warren managed just 36 yards against the Griffins’ defense, while Henning broke free for a 56-yard touchdown in the third quarter. done crying the day after that loss to Loyola,” Kramer said. “I printed out a newspaper story that said, ‘Loyola stuns Lincoln-Way East.’ “I taped that on my wall and I wrote, ‘Never again’ on it. I got up every morning since then, looked at that and said, ‘Never again’ until we got here. We got here now, and we’re going out as champs.”
mokenamessengerdaily.com SPORTS the mokena messenger | December 5, 2019 | 39 fastbreak Steve Millar/22nd Century Media 1st-and-3 THREE NOTES ON ANOTHER CHAMPIONSHIP SEaSON FOR LW EAST FOOTBALL 1. All-State honorees Star receiver/running back AJ Henning and talented kicker Dominic Dzioban (above) were named to the 8A All-State team by the IHSFCA. Senior defensive ends Sean McLaughlin and Adrian Wilson were honorable mentions. 2. Double-digit wins The Griffins won all 14 of their games by double digits. The closest calls were a 20-10 win over Bolingbrook in Week 4 and a 23-13 win over Notre Dame in the quarterfinals. 3. A complete team The Griffins were strong in all facets, averaging 31 points and allowing an average of 6. Special teams were also excellent. A year later, Griffins get their chance to celebrate Steve Millar s.millar@22ndcm.com The Lincoln-Way East Griffins are your Class 8A football state champions. Those are words many would have expected to read on the pages of this paper around this time last year, when East seemed RECAPPING PERFECTION A look back at the Griffins’ 14-0 season. Aug. 30 – LW East 30, Stevenson 7 Kyle Quinn impressed in his starting debut, throwing a touchdown pass to AJ Henning. Sept. 6 – LW East 31, Naperville Central 10 It was a career night for Devon Williams, who ran for 285 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries. Sept. 13 – LW East 42, Bradley- Bourbonnais 7 The Griffins scored 42 in the first half and cruised. Henning had three total touchdowns. destined to win the championship with what through 12 weeks had been one of the most dominant teams in state history. But it was clear that the Griffins’ 24-16 loss to Loyola in last year’s semifinals not only drove this year’s team all season long, it also made this season’s 14-0 run even sweeter. Accomplishments mean more when there is some adversity required. As Lincoln-Way East’s seniors soaked in the moment following the 12-0 championship win over Warren, they repeatedly talked about redemption. Most teams that lose only Sept. 20 – LW East 20, Bolingbrook 10 East’s defense was dominant, holding the Raiders to 76 yards in the road victory. Sept. 27 – LW East 28, Homewood-Flossmoor 14 In his first start at quarterback, Ty Slager threw a 43-yard touchdown to Mason Pierre- Antoine. Oct. 4 – LW East 38, LW Central 2 Slager threw two touchdown passes and the Griffins’ defense dominated. Oct. 11 – LW East 45, Lockport 7 Max Tomczak stepped up with 103 yards receiving and two once in three years don’t need to redeem themselves to anyone, but the Griffins felt the need to do it for themselves after feeling like they let last year slip away. “Coming in here and redeeming ourselves and righting a wrong, it’s an amazing feeling,” senior defensive end Adrian Wilson said. The team’s motto all season was “redefined”, and the Griffins held themselves to the standard of redefining themselves daily. “For us, that meant to come back on a daily basis better than we were before,” East coach Rob Zvonar said. “These guys truly did touchdowns. that, and that allowed us to improve, maybe with a team that wasn’t as talented as last year’s team.” There is no doubt this year’s Griffins team had plenty of talent. Michiganbound AJ Henning was the state’s top recruit, defensive ends Sean McLaughlin (Northwestern) and Adrian Wilson (Bowling Green) are big-time players, and Dominic Dzioban (Miami Ohio) is one of the nation’s top high school kickers. But this year’s team did not blow teams away simply by showing up. They had to fight a little bit harder, and they always did. Oct. 18 – LW East 40, Sandburg 0 Henning ran for two touchdowns and returned a punt for a score, and East recorded its first shutout. Oct. 25 – LW East 35, LW West 3 Returning after missing more than a month with a knee injury, Quinn threw five TD passes. Nov. 1 – LW East 40, Plainfield South 0 Connor Kubik ran for 141 yards in the playoff opener. Nov. 9 – LW East 23, Notre Dame 13 Henning had three total 4 Whenever the Griffins seemed to be in a bit of trouble this season, they came up with a big play. They found a way to take it to the next level. All three units stepped up at different times. The motivation was always there. “That’s definitely the biggest reason we’re here right now,” McLaughlin said of last year’s loss. “I don’t think it would be as sweet right now if we were going back-to-back. You can’t change what happened last year. That’s the way it is. We’re just happy to be champs now.” It was special to watch. touchdowns as the Griffins took a 23-0 halftime lead. Nov. 16 – LW East 26, H-F 7 Dominic Dzioban kicked four long field goals as the Griffins knocked off the Vikings for the second time. Nov. 23 – LW East 24, Marist 7 Matt Kordas came up with his fifth interception of the postseason and Henning’s 66-yard score on a shovel pass from Quinn sealed the trip to state. Nov. 30 – LW East 12, Warren 0 The Griffins finished off their second perfect season in three years, holding Warren to 36 yards of offense. Listen Up “We wanted to come out and prove we were the best defense in the state. We just wanted to come out and make a statement.” Jake Kramer– LW East senior linebacker, on the Griffins’ record-breaking defensive performance in the 12-0 Class 8A state championship game win over Warren tunE in Boys Bowling, 8:30 a.m. Saturday, Dec. 7 Oak Forest Invite at Oak Forest Bowl • LW Central, LW East and LW West are all competing in the tournament. Index 35 - This Week In 34 - Athlete of the Week FASTBREAK is compiled by Sports Editor Steve Millar, s.millar@22ndcm.com.
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