With a scant 38 points allowed through four games, Lemont entered its Week 5 game against Oak Forest brandishing the stingiest defense in the South Suburban Blue.
Linebacker Frankie Letizia made sure the Indians left that way, too.
Letizia was all over the field Friday night, disrupting the line of scrimmage and making plays downfield as the Indians rolled to a 34-0 victory against the host Bengals.
“Our D-line did a great job,” Letizia said. “(Oak Forest) had no penetration. We were getting deep upfield, and they had nowhere to run.”
Letizia set the tone with tackles for loss on consecutive plays in the first quarter for Lemont (5-0, 2-0). He later saved a touchdown with a chase-down tackle on a 48-yard breakaway run from Sean Davis.
“I don’t like anyone to get by my defense” said Letizia, who added a forced fumble. “I saw him, and I wanted to catch him. I didn’t want to give up a touchdown against this team. We shut them out last year, and we wanted to shut them out again.”
The Bengals (3-2, 1-1) still threatened to score after Davis’ jaunt, but Gabe Berta came away with an interception on the last play before halftime to preserve Lemont’s 14-0 lead.
“Say what you want, but (Letizia) is one heck of a player,” Lemont coach Bret Kooi said. “I’m very pleased with the defense.”
Lemont’s offense was just as potent.
Spencer Nagel went 9-for-16 for 126 yards and three TDs, twice finding his younger brother Austin on scoring strikes.
On the first, Austin Nagel fought off air-tight coverage in the corner of the end zone for an 11-yard TD and a 14-0 lead.
“That’s a play we like to run in the red zone,” Nagel said. “I brought it in with one arm. We’ve scored on it a lot this year, and we practice it a lot.”
Nagel’s second TD came on a terrific 36-yard pass down the sideline for a 21-0 advantage.
“My brother works hard in the offseason,” Nagel said. “He threw that ball up. He’s got a strong arm, and our offensive line gave us a lot of time.”
Spencer Nagel also found Steven Fleming for a 40-yard TD to open the scoring. Fleming showed his versatility by converting 4 of 5 extra-point attempts and booming a 57-yard punt.
Davis led Oak Forest with 102 yards on 18 carries.
Jake Kirkman and Anthony Martin added rushing TDs for the Indians.
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Bishop McNamara 40, Leo 14: David Moore caught two TD passes for Leo (2-3).
Chicago Christian 52, Walther Christian 12: Henry Light’s 51-yard TD pass to Jonathan Griffin set the tone for Chicago Christian (2-3, 1-0 MSC Red).
Crete-Monee 57, Rich South 0: Creo Argue’s four scoring runs powered Crete-Monee (3-2, 2-0 SAC). Isiah Rucker (8-for-9) added 191 yards passing and two TDs.
De La Salle 39, St. Francis 6: Devin Michicich had two scoring runs and a TD catch for De La Salle (5-0, 1-0 Catholic Green).
Hillcrest 26, Bremen 0: Anthony Long ran for three TDs to propel Hillcrest (4-1, 2-1 SSC Blue).
Kankakee 37, Rich East 33: Alexander Adams and Juanya Andrews each contributed a pair of TD runs for Rich East (3-2, 0-1 Southland).
Lincoln-Way East 42, Thornton 6: Jake Arthur had four scoring passes — two to Nick Zelenika — for East (4-1, 2-1 SWSC).
Homewood-Flossmoor 27, Lincoln-Way West 11: Herbert Hughes had a pair of TD runs, and Bryan Wright added two scoring passes to lift H-F (5-0, 3-0 SWSC).
Lockport 42, Andrew 16: Ben Davis threw four TD passes to spark Lockport (4-1, 2-1 SWSC). Ryan Summers had a 20-yard scoring run for Andrew (0-5, 0-3).
Reavis 31, Eisenhower 7: Marc McClinton ran for two TDs and passed for a third to pace Reavis (4-1, 2-0 SSC Red).
Sandburg 22, Stagg 16: Jamare Park’s TD reception late in the fourth quarter boosted Sandburg (2-3, 2-1 SWSC). Jake Thielman scored on a 90-yard interception return for Stagg (0-5, 0-3).
Marian Central 28, Joliet Catholic 15: Mike Butler and Keenan Hailey posted TD runs for JCA (0-5, 0-3 ESCC).
Marist 49, Marian Catholic 0: Delonte Harrell had three TDs and Mike Markett added a pair of scores to lead Marist (4-1, 3-0 ESCC).
Thornwood 26, Nouvel Catholic Central (Mich.) 0: Jamar Howard passed for two scores and ran for a third to boost Thornwood (3-2).
Logan Malloy is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown. Freelancer Josh Krockey contributed.