Smith's big second half lifts Bolingbrook

Bolingbrook defensemen Corve' Smith (from left) Kennt Campbell and Alex McNulty celebrate after recovering a fumble against Lincoln-Way Central Saturday afternoon in Bolingbrook.
(MICHAEL R. SCHMIDT/ STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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Bolingbrook’s 6-foot-4, 370-pound offensive lineman Jordan Dillingham would not repeat what was said in the Raiders’ locker room at halftime of their Class 8A playoff opener Saturday against visiting Lincoln-Way Central.

Whatever it was, it was effective.

‘‘What was said is not suitable for families,’’ Dillingham said. ‘‘But the coaches lit a fire under us.’’

Running back Eric Smith scored on runs of 45 and 49 yards as Bolingbrook (8-2) scored on its first two possessions of the third quarter to break open a mistake-plagued four-point game and coast to a 31-3 victory.

‘‘The coaches were upset at halftime,’’ said Dillingham, who along with linemates Vince Kowalski, Jerry Hall, Samie Sabbah and Pat Phillips sprung Smith for 164 of his 256 yards in the second half. ‘‘We wanted to make them happy, so we went out and did that.’’

Smith’s second-half explosion allowed Bolingbrook to tee off on Lincoln-Way Central quarterback Rob Glielmi (9 of 14, 38 yards).

Linebacker Adam Millar had two of the Raiders’ four sacks and tackle Lord Sarpong and linebacker Senuwell Smith each had one.

‘‘Lincoln-Way Central changed up a little but from the last time we played them [a 7-6 Bolingbrook win in Week 3],’’ Senuwell Smith said. ‘‘We had to play a little differently. The key was to stop them on third-and-short.’’

The Knights (6-4) scored first on Scott Secor’s 26-yard field goal 1:19 into the game. Kurt Backus’ interception had given the Knights the ball at the Bolingbrook 16, but a costly delay of game penalty on third down forced them to settle for the field goal.

Eric Smith answered on Bolingbrook’s next possession, racing 67 yards after the Raiders had converted a third-and-10 on a 13-yard completion from Shadonta Travis to Alfonzo Sylvester.

‘‘It was very important to show how much we’ve improved since the first time we’ve played them,’’ Eric Smith said. ‘‘We didn’t push the ball well the first time and our third-down efficiency was something like 11 percent.’’

The Bolingbrook defense also got into the scoring act when Perry Burge returned a Lincoln-Way fumble 45 yards for a touchdown.