It was a pretty good night at the office Friday for Lemont’s defense.
Senior safety Joey DeMaio, aka “the coach on the field,” certainly had no complaints.
Well, maybe a smidgen.
“I’d give us a nine,” DeMaio said. “We can still get better. We had two plays, gave up two touchdowns that were unacceptable. We have to make those mistakes go away.
“Better teams and more challenges will come. This was just the first round of the state playoffs. We’ll work hard and we’ll get better.”
Better? You bet. But Lemont did a lot more right than wrong during a 55-14 victory over visiting Eisenhower in a Class 6A playoff opener.
Payton Salomon completed 17 of 23 passes for 183 yards to lead Lemont (10-0). Nate Wrublik rushed 24 times for 218 yards and three touchdowns.
Dylan Swanstrom returned one punt for 60 yards and a TD, while Luke Wallace returned a kickoff 97 yards for a TD.
Temaj Taylor ran for one touchdown and threw for another to pace Eisenhower (5-5).
Swanstrom also had two TD receptions and made an interception for Lemont. The pick came in only his third game on defense.
The credit? He gave it to DeMaio.
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“I’m pretty new at this, so I ask Joey every time what I should do, and he is always there to help me out,” Swanstrom said. “He’s my man. I couldn’t ask for a better teammate, a better captain.
“He’s just a dog out there on the field. He’s got that dog in him to get the job done.”
DeMaio was a rotation player as a junior. He saw time but it was measured. He wanted more, especially after a 42-21 loss in the state quarterfinals to East St. Louis.
“I just didn’t want to have that losing feeling again,” DeMaio said. “Last season, I felt like I lost all of my brothers that I played four or five months with. It stunk.
“I just wanted to do everything I could do to improve so that wouldn’t happen again.”
Lemont coach Bret Kooi noticed, especially in the weight room.
“Joey had a whale of an offseason,” Kooi said. “He worked extremely hard on getting his feet much faster. He ended up probably being in the top 10 in our room strength-wise.
“He worked his tail off to make himself a real solid player for us. Other than Noah Taylor, he’s one of our most consistent defensive players.”
One that defensive coordinator Willie Hayes calls “our guy” at the safety position.
“He comes downhill, he plays the edge, he gives us a little bit of run support and he does a great job in coverage,” Hayes said. “But the main thing I love about Joey is he makes all of the calls.
“I’m a big communications guy. Football is all about making sure everybody is in the right spot on the defensive side of the ball. He is able to provide that for us. He’s like an extra coach on the field.”
DeMaio was a difference-maker for Lemont during an undefeated regular season.
In nine games, he had 32 solo tackles, including three for losses. He also had an interception, four pass deflections and one caused fumble.
From the weight room to the field, he turned motivation into success.
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“I think it wasn’t a surprise to him, just because of all of the stuff he did,” Kooi said. “It was one of those situations where he looked at it and said, ‘Hey, I’ve earned this spot. OK, this is mine now.’
“I think he has another level to him yet. It’s really clicking in the weight room for him. He’s only going to get bigger and stronger.”