Plainfield N. ends Minooka’s playoff hopes

PLAINFIELD — Just before the first snap from center, one Plainfield North assistant said to his colleague, “Let’s get this little Gunn guy before he gets started.”

Minooka’s Nate Gunn, hardly little at 6-foot-1, wasn’t completely gotten by the Tigers. He ran for 119 yards, including a 56-yard touchdown, but Plainfield North was able to control the Indians and run away with a 60-20 victory.

The outcome keeps Minooka (4-5) home for the playoffs for the third straight year and guarantees Plainfield North (6-3) a spot for the second time in three years.

“It means a lot; last year was pretty disappointing not to get in,” Tigers coach Tim Kane said. “I’m just so happy for this group of seniors. They bought in and did so much for this program this year.”

The Tigers, leading after the first quarter, 26-20, scored the game’s last 34 points, turning an offensive slugfest into a lopsided victory.

North scored on all seven first-half possessions and added two more touchdowns in the second half. The game's last 8:54 was played under a running clock after Kyle Speas' second touchdown reception of the night from J.D. Ekowa, on a 39-yard strike.
Ekowa threw for four touchdowns – the other two to Zach Jarosz – and was 9 of 9 for 279 yards.

“When you run a route and know your quarterback’s going 9 for 9, you’ve got all the confidence in the world,” Jarosz said. “All you’ve got to do is catch it.”

The bulk of the offense came on the ground, with dependable Quintin Hoosman scoring five touchdowns on a 20-carry, 214-yard evening. He celebrated senior night with touchdown runs of 20, 18, 11, 14 and 47 yards.

“We had trouble stopping their kids,” Minooka coach Paul Forsythe said. “There were a lot of ups and downs this season. The scoreboard doesn’t reflect how the guys finished.”

It was a festival of scoring – especially in the first half – that would have brought a tear to the eye of an American Football League fan. North led, 26-20, after a quarter and added three second-quarter touchdowns for a 47-20 lead at intermission.

“Defensively, we settled down a little bit,” Kane said. “We sustained their emotional surge in the beginning, settled down and played OK.”

The Tigers jumped to a 12-0 lead on Jarosz’s 54-yard reception from Ekowa and Hoosman’s first touchdown run. Gunn answered on the fourth play of Minooka’s subsequent drive, crashing across the right side and cutting to the middle for a 56-yard score. It was 12-7 with 6:40 left in the first quarter.

Hoosman capped a six-play drive with an 18-yard score 2:39 later. Four snaps after that, Minooka, with Johnny Carnagio (10 of 21, 184 yards) hitting Victor Turpin on a 73-yard bomb, cut the gap to 18-14.

It wasn’t until each school scored again – Morris via Carnagio’s other touchdown pass – that the first-quarter carnage was complete.

By the half, North had piled up 398 yards – 240 via Ekowa’s arm – and Minooka had accumulated 235 yards. The Tigers finished with 533 yards and Minooka with 299.

North’s sophomores completed an undefeated season with a 34-8 rout of Minooka.