Football: Oak Lawn wins first conference crown in 28 years

For the first time in 28 years, Oak Lawn has won a conference title in football.

The host Spartans beat visiting Richards 20-12 on Friday night and wrapped up the South Suburban Red crown.

Oak Lawn quarterback Cody Williams relied on running back Nick Pesek but also helped the team by intercepting two passes. Williams, a defensive back, picked off a Richards pass late in the third quarter that led to the Spartans' final touchdown.

"This means a great deal," Williams said. "We tried not to focus (on winning the title) that much this week, and we just tried focusing on Richards. But in the back of our minds, we knew we were playing for more than a conference championship."

Pesek finished with 184 yards on 21 carries. He had touchdown runs of 80 and 11 yards.

"We wanted it all season because it was our goal since last year," Pesek said. "The (80-yard score) felt good, and we wanted to do something big. (The offensive line) helped a lot on that."

With Oak Lawn already leading 14-12, Williams' interception with 1:46 to go in the third quarter returned possession to the Spartans. That drive ended with Pesek's 11-yard run to put Oak Lawn up 20-12.

Oak Lawn (5-3, 4-0) had a 14-12 halftime advantage after a scoreless first quarter.

Raek Kurdi helped put Oak Lawn up 7-0 on a 23-yard touchdown run to start the second quarter. But Richards answered with quarterback Jon Ryan's 6-yard scoring run with 6:05 left to get within 7-6.

On the first play from scrimmage after the kickoff, Pesek took off on the 80-yard scoring run. After the PAT, the Spartans led 14-6.

Pesek gained a whopping 123 first-half yards on nine carries.

Richards (4-4, 3-1) answered at the four-minute mark with Ryan's 51-yard scoring pass to Keith Sconiers. The 2-point conversion attempt failed.