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LWW spoils Joliet Central’s stadium unveiling
Updated: May 9, 2012 9:44AM
The setting was picture perfect Saturday afternoon at Joliet Central as the Steelmen unveiled their on-campus football stadium, complete with all the pomp and circumstance such an occasion merits.
The problem is, the visitors from Lincoln-Way West refused to cooperate, scoring on a string of big plays in the first half en route to a 40-8 nonconference victory.
From the time Central ran off 13 plays in a 45-yard drive after receiving the opening kickoff, it was evident this edition of the Steelmen will be able to get some things done.
But as soon as West got its hands on the ball, it was all over. Nick Dangles’ 25-yard run on the Warriors’ first possession set up Kyle Millner’s 25-yard scoring strike to Adam Slattery.
Millner later hit Slattery with a 47-yard touchdown toss and Brian Skowronski on a 41-yarder.
“We like Millner a lot,” Warriors coach Mark VanderKooi said. “He has stepped up in leadership and in his mental skills as a senior.”
Cole Lukanus chipped in with a 37-yard field goal For West.
B.J. Bello blocked a punt and Gus Mendez scooped it up and ran 9 yards for a touchdown. Mendez also picked up a fumble from his linebacker spot and ran 59 yards for a touchdown.
Bello caught him from behind and began the celebration a yard or so early, causing Mendez to fumble into the end zone. But as VanerKooi noted, it was poetic justice when Mendez continued on and fell on the ball for the touchdown.
And then there was a safety, where the ball was snapped over the head of the Central punter. He chased the ball down and, with Warriors in pursuit, kicked it out the back end of the end zone.
All of that happened in the first half and set up a running clock the entire second half. And it meant a one-sided score in a game where the Steelmen ran 55 offensive plays, the Warriors 27. But West netted 276 total yards to Central’s 132.
“We want our offense to be tired from being out there a lot because our defense gets three-and-outs, not one-and-outs and two-and-outs,” Central coach Mike Maloney said, referring to West’s quick-strike ability.
“We scored quickly a couple of times, and this might be the first times in school history we scored on defense,” VanderKooi said.
“It seemed liked our defense was doing all the work for us,” Millner said.
But for a while at least, Central’s offense had the upper hand.
“They came out against us and pushed us down the field, got the momentum going,” VanderKooi said. “Coach Maloney is a heck of a coach. His teams are disciplined. They do the right things.”
“Last year we had drives like that against the second-team defenses. Now we are getting them against the first teams,” said Maloney, whose team scored in the fourth quarter on an 11-play, 67-yard drive, culminating in Carlos Curry’s 1-yard TD run and his two-point conversion pass to Jason Worley.
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