Something special about Oswego triumph

Updated: October 15, 2011 12:22AM

Two unique plays by the special teams unit helped Oswego to its sixth straight victory.

The Panthers blocked a punt, turned it into a touchdown and then recovered the ensuing kickoff and cashed that into a touchdown in a span of 1:46 in the third quarter on Friday night to help the Panthers to a 21-6 win in a Southwest Prairie Conference contest at Plainfield Central.

“This game is all about momentum and that block punt really jump-started things and got us going,” Panthers quarterback Ryan West said.

Oswego led 7-0 at halftime thanks to a 14-yard touchdown pass from West to Jamaal Richardson.

Oswego (6-2, 6-0) really turned the game in its favor when Jack Kwiatkowski slipped past the Plainfield Central line and blocked Bryce Douglas’ punt. Oswego recovered at the Plainfield Central 6.

“We designed that punt block and Mickeel Stewart moved his man right out of the way and it was wide open for me,” Kwiatkowski said.

Kwiatkowski finished what he started when West found Kwiatkowski for a 3-yard touchdown pass and a 13-0 lead.

A very bizarre occurrence took place on the ensuing kickoff. Oswego kicker Freddy Miller attempted a line drive squib kick of sorts when the ball squarely hit off the facemask of a Plainfield Central player. The ball took a wild bounce and when the bodies were pulled off the pile Oswego had recovered at the Plainfield Central 42. The Panthers then pieced together a nice drive that Josh Mapalo finished with a 1-yard score.

West, who completed 18-of-38 passes for 192 yards and two touchdowns, found Kwiatkowski for a two-point conversion and a 21-0 lead with 6:23 left in the third quarter.

“That (kickoff) was a crazy play,” Kwiatkowski said. “We’ll take it — especially in a game like this.”

Plainfield Central (5-3, 3-3) managed to make things interesting when quarterback Tim Blake and receiver Derek Bernascik hooked up for 38-yard touchdown pass and catch early in the fourth quarter. West responded by leading the Panthers on a time-consuming drive that ate up a majority of the clock and helped seal the win.

The Wildcats missed opportunities in the first half when they were turned away on downs inside the Panthers’ 30 on three separate occasions.

“Our defense did what it was supposed to do — they held a high-scoring attack in check, but the offense just didn’t come out to play,” said West, who completed 5-of-15 passes for 80 yards.

The Oswego defense held the Plainfield Central running game to 113 yards.

Oswego’s win combined with Minooka’s 52-20 triumph against Romeoville sets up a winner-take-all showdown next Friday in Oswego for the Southwest Prairie Conference championship as both teams enter unbeaten in league play.

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