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Lincoln-Way East nets big win over Joliet Central
Updated: October 14, 2011 11:59PM
Lincoln-Way East notched its 100th varsity football victory Friday night by defeating Joliet Central 42-0 in the home SouthWest Suburban Blue.
The milestone win comes 10 years after the program played its first varsity game in 2001. According to the IHSA, Lincoln-Way East may be the fastest team to accumulate 100 wins.
Rob Zvonar has been the coach for all of those wins, and he also has a state championship to boot, but when he reflected on the moment after the game he praised his current and former players.
“It’s humbling. We’ve had the type of student-athletes that wanted to invest and sacrifice and trust each other over the 11 years here in the program,” he said. “I feel blessed and honored to be around those young men. These kids are holding the standard high for the kids who started out in 2001.
“This group played well tonight, but they have some other goals in mind coming up here in November. We’ll enjoy this tonight and stay as focused as we can the rest of the season.”
The Griffins (8-0, 6-0) scored all 42 points in the first half against the Steelmen (0-8, 0-6). Since it was Senior Night, it was appropriate that everyone who scored for East was a senior.
Defensive end Joel Magrum scored on the first play from scrimmage when he intercepted Joliet Central quarterback Carlos Curry’s pass at the 15 and returned it for a touchdown to make it 7-0 with just six seconds off the game clock.
The Griffins offense rolled behind the arm of quarterback Blake Winkler, and the legs of running back Tyler Starke.
Winkler threw a screen pass to receiver J.J. Robertson, who turned it into a 37-yard scoring run to make it 14-0 with 8:29 to play in the first quarter. Starke scored his first touchdown on a 24-yard run to make it 21-0 with 1:06 to play in the period.
Winkler’s next touchdown came when he hit running back Blake Anders over the middle with a 54-yard pass that made it 28-0 with 9:29 left in the second quarter. Starke’s 5-yard run with 3:35 left in the period made it 35-0. Winkler’s last TD toss of the night came when he completed a 3-yard pass to receiver Jay Yancy to make it 42-0 with 1:01 left in the first half. Winkler finished 10-of-17 passes for 208 yards and three touchdowns.
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