Thompson, Tinley Park roll past Rich East

Updated: September 3, 2011 1:56AM

At 5-foot-7, 215 pounds, Tinley Park’s Preston Thompson doesn’t exactly run like a deer.

But he sure does chew up yards.

“We call him, ‘Bowling Ball.’ He runs hard, and he’s a hard worker,” teammate Kyle Sheridan said of the sophomore running back after the Titans’ 40-28 nonconference victory Friday over visiting Rich East.

Thompson rushed 17 times for 113 yards and a pair of touchdowns. The Titans (2-0) rallied from a 28-21 deficit with three fourth-quarter scores.

Sheridan was 8-of-10 passing for 128 yards. His lone TD pass was the game-winner, a bomb to Eldridge Anderson good for a 41-yard tally with 7:40 remaining.

It was quite a roller-coaster ride for the Titans, who sprinted in front 14-0 early on TD runs of 15 yards by Sheridan and 4 by Thompson and a pair of PAT kicks by Trevor Rolette.

Rich East cut into the gap with 8:14 remaining in the half on a fourth-down 45-yard pass from Malcolm Miller (7-for-16, 139 yards) to Richard White III and a conversion run by Rondell Willingham.

The teams then traded scores before the half, Sheridan going 12 yards for Tinley Park and Willingham 9 for Rich East. It was 21-16 Titans at the intermission.

Rich East went in front with two third-quarter touchdowns in less than a minute when White scored on runs of 5 and 15 yards. Sandwiched in the middle was a fumble recovery on a kickoff by Shamond Kemp.

The Titans closed to within 28-27 with 11:11 remaining in the fourth period on a 4-yard run by Thompson. A three-and-out by the defense got them the ball back and a good punt return by Joshua Narbaiz got them good field position at the Tinley Park 47.

Runs of 7 yards by Sheridan and 5 by Reynaldo Labampa set up the play of the game.

“It was an option out and he decided to go deep,” Sheridan said of Anderson’s pass route. “He beat (the defender) and I hit him.”

An interception by Michael Johnson stopped Rich East on its next possession, and a 1-yard sneak by Sheridan with 1:13 remaining locked up the victory for the Titans, who won big in Week 1 against Bogan, but…

“We still needed to prove ourselves that we were the better team,” Sheridan said. “Tonight we showed what we’ve got.”

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