Joliet Township rolled to a 20-0 SICA West victory Saturday at Bolingbrook. Now the fifth-ranked Steelmen (6-1, 3-1) are hoping it wasn’t their last game for a while.
The Steelmen are Class 6A title contenders, but the possibility of a teachers’ strike Tuesday looms. Because teams can’t play during a strike, Joliet’s season could be in jeopardy. State playoffs begin Oct. 28-29.
“I just told them, `If this is our last game, let’s make today our state final and go out with a win,’ ” said coach Al Greenberg. “We’re playing our best football of the season. Hopefully, the adults (teachers and administration) will see what this (football) means to the kids.”
Mike Stokes (150 yards on 27 carries and one touchdown) led the Steelmen. Macio Horde added 74 yards rushing on nine carries and a touchdown and the defense helped put the game away late when Eric Patnoudes returned an interception 25 yards for a TD.
Downers Grove North 16, Lyons 14: Downers North (4-3, 3-2) scored two third-quarter touchdowns and watched Lyons (5-2, 3-2) miss a 37-yard field goal with 33 seconds remaining to earn the West Suburban Silver victory in Western Springs.
Eric Walton scored on a 30-yard run and Tim Sample dashed in from 20 yards out on a drive set up by Scott Steeves’ fumble recovery at the Lyons 22.
“We noticed that their linebackers were flying out, so we wanted to hit something inside,” Downers North coach Pete Ventrelli said of the two scoring runs.
Jeffrey Pleviak rushed for 96 yards and scored both Lyons TDs.
Warren 28, Libertyville 20: It didn’t look good for Warren when it fell behind 20-0 after one quarter. And it didn’t look much better when the score was 20-6 heading into the fourth quarter.
But the Blue Devils rallied for the victory, the winning play coming on Ryan Kelver’s 14-yard pass to Jim Blockinger with :23 left. The Blue Devils added a two-point conversion on the way to dropping Libertyville out of a first-place tie with Stevenson (5-1) in the North Suburban. Both teams are 5-2, 4-2.
Warren started its rally with a 5-yard run by Zach Florio (22 carries, 108 yards) with 1:36 left in the first half, making the score 20-6.
“The score before halftime helped settle us down,” said Warren coach Reggie Hughes. “There was no sense of urgency at halftime. But the kids just played better defensively and made some good adjustments on the field.
“Other than today, Libertyville is probably better than us, but in these conditions (a driving rain) you can’t rule anything out.”
Thornton 34, Bloom 0: Reginald Gage carried 15 times for 135 yards and four touchdowns as No. 4 Thornton (7-0, 4-0) claimed the SICA East victory. “He ran well considering the bad conditions,” coach Bill Mosel said of the rain, a factor in 10 fumbles by the teams. “He’s getting back to himself. He ran well last week and this week again.”
Gage scored on runs of 2, 16, 25 and 36 yards. Tai Streets scored on a 75-yard punt return.
Evanston 20, Waukegan 14: Barry Ross scored the decisive touchdown for Evanston on a 2-yard run with seven seconds left. The Wildkits (6-1, 3-0) fell behind 14-0 before Jean Jourdain ran for two TDs. Waukegan fell to 5-2, 1-2 in the Central Suburban South.
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Marian Catholic 18, St. Patrick 15: Quarterback Mark Broxterman ran for a touchdown and threw a 15-yard pass to Sean Egglesfielb for another to lead Marian (5-2, 5-0) to the East Suburban Catholic victory and a tie for first place with Joliet Catholic. The game was the first for St. Patrick (1-6, 1-4) since Thursday’s IHSA ruling forced the school to forfeit five victories for using an ineligible player.
“We can’t be down,” said St. Patrick coach Art Kelly. “We’re going to get things rectified.” School officials said they will appeal the IHSA ruling. “We’re a playoff-caliber team,” added Kelly. “It’s not like the old days, when we were 2-7. When justice prevails, we’re going to do some heavy damage in the playoffs.”
Dominic DeGustino led the Shamrocks with 81 yards rushing and a touchdown. St. Patrick pulled within three points with 7:03 left on Darrell Stewart’s ran 38-yard touchdown run and Matt Olson’s two-point conversion run.
Leo 8, St. Laurence 7: Courtney Cox’s two-point conversion run in the third quarter gave Leo the Catholic South victory. The Lions (4-3, 2-1) had only 102 yards of total offense but got into position to win the game on quarterback Harold Blackmon’s 12-yard touchdown run with 9:09 left in the third quarter.
South Shore 28, Washington 0: Ontavius Perkins rushed for 85 yards and scored two TDs and also passed for 150 yards to lead South Shore (5-2, 3-1) in the Public Southeast. Richard Lewis (14 carries, 156 yards) scored on a 48-yard run and Lewis Harmon returned a punt that Walter Moore blocked 27 yards for the final score.
Aurora Central 21, Nazareth 0: Jeremy Watkins scored on a 3-yard run in the first quarter and Aurora Central (5-2, 2-1) was on its way to the Private School League victory. The loss dropped Nazareth (6-1, 2-1) out of a tie for first place with Walther Lutheran.
De La Salle 14, St. Francis de Sales 0: Brian Sheard ran 46 and 12 yards for first-half touchdowns to lead De La Salle (5-2, 1-2) to the Catholic League South victory.
Maine East 42, Niles West 0: Maine East (4-3, 1-2) forced 12 fumbles and recovered six to win the Central Suburban South game. Maine East took control in the second quarter, when Scott Dorsey scored on a 10-yard run and Hugh Capellan returned a blocked punt for a touchdown for a 21-0 halftime lead.
Luther South 14, Luther North 8: Joe Carpenter (18 carries, 121 yards) scored from 2 yards out in overtime to give Luther South the Private School League victory. Tyrone Roberts (seven carries, 151 yards) gave South (4-3, 2-1) its other score with a 10-yard run in the first quarter.
Notre Dame 18, St. Joseph 0: Ryan Egan rushed for two touchdowns and Keith Sansone one as Notre Dame (3-4, 3-2) triumphed in the East Suburban Catholic. St. Joseph (1-6, 1-5) was held to 15 total yards.
Proviso West 10, Morton 0: Anthony Anaya kicked a 26-yard field goal, Solomon Burcy scored on a 68-yard run and Anon Miller had three of his team’s eight sacks for Proviso West (4-3).
Clemente 14, Lincoln Park 6: Andre Figuroa (39 carries, 158 yards) scored on runs of 15 and five yards for Clemente (4-3, 3-2) in the Public North-Central.
Marist 20, Benet 6: Marist (5-2, 4-1) won the East Suburban Catholic contest as Jimmy Blackmore rushed for 188 yards and a 67-yard touchdown and Tom Costello and Bob Johnson also had rushing scores. The Marist defense recorded four sacks.
T.F. South 38, T.F. North 12: Ryan Kats carried 14 times for 84 yards and one touchdown as Thornton Fractional South (6-1, 3-0) claimed the SICA Central victory, setting up a showdown next with Bremen, which is a game behind. “We did a good job staying focused on North even with the big game next week,” said T.F. South coach Tom Padjen.
Loyola 35, Weber 0: Peter Gorman followed Peter Sylvester’s 28-yard first-quarter touchdown run with an 86-yard punt return for a score to break the game open early for No. 9 Loyola (6-1, 3-0) in the Catholic League North. Sylvester (14 carries, 93 yards) rushed for two more TDs, and the Ramblers’ defense held Weber to 58 yards total offense.
Walther Lutheran 32, Chicago Christian 0: Tirrell Robinson rushed for 235 yards and scored on runs of 8, 23, 61 and 36 yards to lead Walther (7-0, 3-0) to the Private League triumph.
Evergreen Park 21, Elmwood Park 0: Mike Tracy rushed for 104 yards on 22 carries and scored two touchdowns as Evergreen Park (7-0, 3-0) stayed unbeaten and atop the Southwest Suburban. Elmwood Park, which fell to (3-4, 1-2) committed six turnovers.
Roosevelt 34, Amundsen 0: Touchdown runs of 60 and 50 yards run by Dionte Lewis helped Roosevelt (1-6, 1-3 in the Public League Northeast) to its first win of the season.
Willowbrook 20, Proviso East 0: Nick Martin’s first-quarter fumble recovery in the end zone was all the offense Willowbrook needed as the Warriors held Provise East to 51 yards total offense.
“They (Proviso East’s offense) can score at any time and we did a great job to shut them down,” Willowbrook coach Paul Maggiore said. “It wasn’t pretty, but we’ll take it.”
Justin Hollmann caught a 16-yard touchdown pass fom Mike Bergen and Chris Forberg (22 carries, 82 yards) scored on a 7-yard run to help Willowbrook (7-0, 5-0) stay undefeated in the West Suburban Gold.
Hillcrest 8, Tinley Park 7: Shey Mobley’s 13-yard touchdown run and two-point conversion in the second quarter allowed Hillcrest (4-3, 2-1) to slip by in the SICA Central.
Roosevelt 34, Amundsen 0: Dionte Lewis had two TD runs and Eugene Bush ran for a score and caught a pass for another as Roosevelt (1-3, 1-6) earned tts first Public Northeast victory.
Tilden 18, King 6: Terrence Johnson rushed for one TD and threw a 43-yard pass to LaVelle Armour for another for Tilden (3-4, 2-2) in the Public Central.