Griffins overpower Joliet Central

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:16PM

The rain let up just before kickoff Saturday at Memorial Stadium for Joliet Central's final football game of the season.

Unfortunately for coach Mike Maloney's Steelmen, it continued to pour in the form of Griffins as Lincoln-Way East clinched the Southwest Conference Blue championship with a resounding 62-0 victory.

For Central (0-9, 0-7), the game was decided early as No. 13 East (8-1, 7-0), with a stiff wind at its back, pinned Central down on the first possession. With the Steelmen starting from the 20, the ferocious Griffin defense forced a punt into a 25-30 mph wind. An eight-yard boot gave East a first down at 30, and two plays later, the Griffins scored on a 12-yard Dave Mahl run and a Kyle Buchback extra point to make it 7-0.

On Central's next snap, East linebacker Jay Lancy picked up a loose ball at the 21 and galloped into the end zone at the 8:14 mark to put East up 14-0.

The Griffins then swarmed Central quarterback Jason Curry, forcing an ill-advised throw that was intercepted by Griffin defensive tackle Matt Solner, a 260-pound junior, giving East a first down at the 11. Two plays later, Blake Winkler hit fellow junior Jay Yancy for a seven-yard TD pass and a 21-0 lead at the 5:41 mark.

East held Central to minus-six yards and no first downs in the first half. Meanwhile, East would tack on three more first-quarter scores on a Tyler Starke one-yard run, an 18-yard Max Baer touchdown pass from Winkler, his second of the game, and yet another defensive score, a 15-yard interception return by senior linebacker Pat Meehan with 1:14 left in the quarter to make it 42-0.

East scored twice in the second quarter on a 17-yard pass from backup junior quarterback Blake Anders to senior Sean Foody and the second a 45-yard Anders run with 1:38 left for a 55-0 lead at the break.

Maloney took a positive approach after the game.

"We will look at the positives from this season and start Monday toward next year," he said. "That team (East) is where want to be and with hard work and dedication we'll get there. The talent is there we just have to have the dedication and effort to go with it to be successful."

The Griffins added the final touchdown during the running-clock third quarter when junior Logan Newman scored from two yards out. East finished with a 303-23 advantage in total yards.

Griffins coach Rob Zvonar praised the shorthanded Steelmen's effort.

"Their kids played hard under some tough conditions and they will get better," he said. "We came out of the game healthy and now like all the other playoff teams, we go home and wait to see who we play.

"Right now we're playing well. We had a good week of practice and these kids know what's at stake."

© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.