Spartans fall just short

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OSWEGO -- Romeoville had opportunities to tie Friday's game with Oswego East.

But each time, the Spartans fell just short as they dropped a 7-0 decision to the Wolves in Southwest Prairie Conference play.

Two 15-yard Romeoville penalties, both occurring on third down, kept drives alive for Oswego East (2-4, 1-3) in the third quarter. The Wolves eventually capped an 89-yard drive for the game's only score -- a 15-yard run by quarterback Josh Aceret with 4:19 remaining in the third quarter.

"You simply can't commit penalties in key situations like that," Romeoville coach Jeff Kuna said. "You can't fault aggression, but there was no doubt that the penalties hurt us down the stretch."

After Romeoville's Kentaro Pierce pinned the Wolves on a long punt, the Spartans eventually gained possession at the Wolves' 49 with 11:20 remaining in the game.

The Spartans (2-4, 0-4) drove the ball to the 10-yard line when Derrick Lewis (75 yards on 16 carries) broke a run to the 3. Successive runs by Pierce advanced the ball to the 1.

But on fourth down, Cameron Stingily was met by a host of Oswego East tacklers right at the goal line. Wolves' linebacker Jack Klein made the initial stop with 9:20 remaining.

After holding the Wolves once again, the Spartans gained possession one more time. The drive started at the Oswego East 39.

But the Spartans could not move the ball.

"We made a few mistakes offensively when we got down inside the 10 with an opportunity to tie the game" Kuna said. "We had some missed assignments and that hurt us in the long run. When you're inside the opponents' 5-yard line, you have to come away with something."

Romeoville sophomore quarterback Mitchell Gillis completed just 2-of-12 passes in the fourth quarter.

Kuna, however, is not about to lose confidence in his young quarterback.

"We know that we are rebuilding the program here at Romeoville," Kuna said. "Mitchell is our best option at quarterback. He is going to learn from a game like tonight's."

Lewis had a productive first half, rushing for 49 yards on only 8 carries. The Spartans finished with 187 yards -- 116 rushing and 71 passing. The Wolves had 227 rushing and 10 passing for 237 total.

The 5-foot-10, 180-pound Pierce, a senior, came up with one of the game's biggest plays in the first half.

With time running down in the opening half, Pierce broke through the defensive line and blocked a 28-yard field goal attempt as time expired.