Stay Connected with YourSeason
West throws shutout to claim Battle of Joliet
Updated: September 24, 2011 6:36PM
On a Saturday afternoon when things at times got ugly at Joliet Central Stadium, the Joliet West defense was beautiful.
Led by senior linebackers Nolan Springer and Matt Koran and a disciplined front, the Tigers held Joliet Central to six first downs and 62 net yards en route to a 21-0 SouthWest Suburban Blue victory.
“They have good kids on their defense, Springer and Koran at linebacker, and their edge men kept us contained,” Central coach Mike Maloney said.
“Our defensive kids recognized their responsibilities against a run-option offense and they played great,” West coach Jason Aubry said. “That is how you win football games.”
The Tigers (1-4, 1-2) tasted victory for the first time while the Steelmen (0-5, 0-3) remain anxious to realize the experience.
For a long while, Central was right there despite struggling to put anything together offensively. The game was scoreless until West’s Justin Jackson blocked a Central punt. Senior defensive back Calvin Edwards scooped it up and raced 31 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead with 7:24 left in the first half.
“I had to redeem myself for my dropped interception,” Edwards said. “I thought the punter was going to catch me. I guess I used my track speed.”
But despite leading 7-0 at the half, the Tigers were frustrated. They had touchdowns called back on consecutive plays on a drive late in the first quarter. Edwards lost a possible 14-yard TD run because of a holding call in the final minute of the half and a Zach Divarco-to-Justin Posley pass in the end zone on the final play of the half was ruled incomplete.
“What did we lose, four or five touchdowns in all?” Aubry said. “The ticky-tack penalties all game were a little tough to swallow. We did some things well but we shot ourselves in the foot.”
West was whistled for 11 penalties covering 88 yards, Central eight times for 85 yards. Many on both sides were killers.
Central’s improved tackling limited West to 235 total yards, including second-half touchdown runs by Kameron Hargrove and Ramarr Jordan, and the Steelmen received big interceptions from K.T. Carpenter and Curtis Parker.
But on the other side of the ball, Central lost regular sophomore center to a broken foot suffered Friday in non-contact drills.
Sophomore Daniel McGee stepped in and drew Maloney’s praise for his effort. But as the coach said, “It’s tough to work on an offense and then lose your center the day before a game.”
Especially when you’re facing a defensive front eight as strong as West’s. “We felt we were better than our record showed,” Springer said. “Central played a tough game, but we said we needed a defensive shutout and got it.”
© 2012 Sun-Times Media, LLC. All rights reserved. This material may not be copied or distributed without permission. For more information about reprints and permissions, visit www.suntimesreprints.com. To order a reprint of this article, click here.
Cell Phone Alerts
Comments Click here to view or make a comment