Sanad Alshubbak’s mother, Arwa, called an audible during his freshman year at Sandburg.
“I had a soccer background,” he said. “My mom didn’t want me doing travel soccer, so I decided football was the way to go. I love football now.”
Mother knew best, but she did not get to see how much of a difference her son, now a senior kicker/punter, made Friday night in a 12-0 SouthWest Suburban Conference crossover victory over Andrew in Tinley Park.
That’s because Alshubbak’s mother was picking up his sister, Aya, from college.
Good things happened for Sandburg (1-2), however, when his right foot met the ball in the first game between the two District 230 schools since 2014.
Andrew (1-2) muffed Alshubbak’s punt in the first quarter, with Tommy Stotts recovering the ball. That led to a 40-yard field goal.
Alshubbak also converted a 22-yard field goal in the second quarter, giving the Eagles a 6-0 halftime lead.
Late in the third quarter, Alshubbak showed there’s more to his game than just power. A well-placed 34-yard punt pinned the ball on Andrew’s 6-yard line.
“I love all of kicking,” he said. “I love kickoffs. I love field goals. But punting has my heart.”
The way both defenses played, it appeared this would be a game without a touchdown until quarterback Christian Evans hit running back Jake Maziarka. Evans was off to the races for a 63-yard TD with 5 minutes, 53 seconds left in the game.
With Sandburg getting shut out in Week 2 by Glenbrook South, Maziarka said it was huge for the Eagles to find the end zone.
“It felt good,” said Maziarka, who also ran for 96 yards and had two catches for 75 yards. “It was good for the team and it was good for me personally.
“The line did a great job. They block for me and I run for them. They got my back and I got theirs.”
Sandburg’s defense registered its first shutout since Oct. 18, 2013, a 14-0 victory over Stagg.
Among those contributing sacks and tackles for losses were Nate Gibbons, Jalen Wright, Alex Szczesniak, Saleh Hamideh and Kyle Peterson. Peterson also had a fumble recovery.
Andrew, meanwhile, opened the season with a heartbreaking 27-23 loss to Kaneland but recovered with a 57-0 win over Thornton. The Thunderbolts hoped to keep that momentum going.
Quarterback Dominic D’Ambrosio accounted for 109 yards passing and running against Sandburg. Mike Barberi added 50 yards on four carries, but Andrew could not put points on the board.
“All year, our defense has made big stops and the special teams have played well,” Andrew coach Adam Lewandowski said. “But our offense needs to get better. We can’t play that poorly after the game we had against Thornton.”
It was Troy McAllister’s first win as Sandburg’s coach. He led the Phillips to two state championships, which also were the first state titles in football won by a Public League team.
He thought this win was ugly, but he’ll take it.
“When you are building a program, part of the process is understanding sometimes the wins and losses won’t always be there,” he said. “But when you see the young men get rewarded with a win, it helps it along.”
The Eagles have a tough trifecta in the next three weeks with Bolingbrook, Lockport and Lincoln-Way East on the schedule.
“Humans are creatures of habit,” Gibbons said. “And I think this will be our new habit, a habit of winning.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.