A Week 8 loss to Plainfield North was a wake-up call for Oswego that didn’t go unanswered.
“It lit a fire for us deep, down inside,” running back Erik Vargas Jr. said.
“It definitely woke us up,” linebacker/running back Chad Marsh said. “We needed that. It picked up the intensity of practice, picked up the intensity of the game.”
Host Oswego bounced back from its first Southwest Prairie Conference loss in four seasons with a 28-7 victory Friday night over Plainfield South.
Combined with Minooka’s win over Plainfield North, the conference title belongs solely to Oswego (7-2, 6-1), which was announced to an excited crowd after the game.
Vargas and several teammates heard the news first from coach Brian Cooney as they were coming off the field just before the game ended.
“After we took our last knee, coach comes up to us and said, ‘Minooka beat Plainfield North. You guys are conference champs,”’ Vargas said. “I filled up with excitement. Being my last year, it’s the best feeling.”
“That means the world to us because we don’t like sharing things,” Marsh said.
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Oswego took the ball from Plainfield South (5-4, 5-2) on the first play from scrimmage when defensive back Kyle Keeton recovered a fumble at South’s 25-yard line to help set up a 3-yard touchdown run by quarterback Steven Frank.
Oswego started a 13-play, 67-yard drive later in the first quarter that ended with a 1-yard TD plunge by Marsh to put the Panthers ahead 14-0 with 8:31 left in the second quarter.
Oswego led only 14-7 late in the third quarter when linebacker Frederick Walton picked off a pass at South’s 21. Marsh scored on the next play to give Oswego a 21-7 advantage. Marsh added a 1-yard TD run with 4:34 to play in the game.
Marsh finished with 79 yards on 10 carries. Vargas contributed 66 yards on 24 carries on the rain-soaked field.
“The cuts were the hardest part, definitely,” Vargas said.
Marsh, defensive linemen Brennan Burdo and Noah Shannon, and defensive backs Keeton and Willie Rodriguez were frequently in on tackles. Rodriguez also had a third-quarter interception.
“I think everyone, after coming off that tough loss to North, stepped up their game,” Cooney said. “Asked our kids not to point blame, but look in the mirror and say, ‘What can you do to make the situation better?’
“The tempo for the week really got set when one of our captains, Chad Marsh, gave a little bit of a motivational speech to his team. Borderline challenged or threatened them to kick it into gear. He did it on his own.”
Instead of going into the playoffs with back-to-back losses, Oswego has confidence from winning another conference title.
“I’m glad we’ve got the momentum going into the playoffs,” Marsh said. “The intensity is on the way up.”
“Just keep improving, stay healthy, keep our kids focused on one game at a time,” Cooney said.
Tim Tierney is a freelance writer for The Beacon-News.