Johnsburg’s quick second-half start sinks Woodstock North

WOODSTOCK – Johnsburg quarterback AJ Bravieri felt the key to the Skyhawks’ halftime discussions was coming out against Woodstock North with the proper mindset in the third quarter.

“We just got in the mentality of we had to win this game,” Bravieri said. “I kind of rallied around my teammates and made it happen. We came out flat in the first half and we all made the decision (at halftime) we weren’t losing this game. We came out and did what we needed to do.”

[ Photos: Johnsburg vs. Woodstock North Week 1 football ]

After the defense forced the Thunder into a three-and-out, Bravieri connected on 12-yard gains to Ashton Stern and Kaeden Frost. Running back Brett Centnarowicz took care of the last 20 yards on three carries for a touchdown.

The defense added another touchdown 1:24 later and the Skyhawks were on their way to a 25-12 victory Saturday in their Kishwaukee River/Interstate 8 Conference crossover game.

Johnsburg (1-0) trailed North (0-1) 12-6 at halftime as the Thunder got a touchdown run and touchdown pass from quarterback Landan Creighton.

“We just talked about executing,” Skyhawks coach Sam Lesniack said. “We missed some big plays in the first half, so we talked about taking a deep breath and executing. We came out and had a scoop-and-score touchdown and right out of the gates, momentum shifted quickly. It’s crazy how momentum works in high school football.”

Defensive end CJ Ameachi and linebacker Dom Vallone combined for the defensive touchdown. Ameachi sacked Creighton while he was rolling left and raked his arm, forcing the fumble. Vallone scooped it up and ran it in.

Just a few minutes into the third quarter, the Skyhawks went from down six to a 19-12 lead and felt much better about themselves.

“I saw the QB boot to my side, they tried to block me and I got off that and we needed to have that,” Ameachi said. “We needed a momentum changer. We needed to make negative yards for them. I tackled him and I looked down and thought he got the ball off, but my teammate (Dom Vallone) came in and got it and I was so excited.

“It made us even more hyped. After that we got another stop. It was really blessed for us.”

Freshman defensive back Duke Mays grabbed two interceptions and Landon Johnson picked off another to end North’s final threat on the drive after Johnsburg had taken a 25-12 lead.

“The whole game is momentum,” Mays said. “We came out and we were fiery. We were down six at half and it ticked us off and we capitalized on it after half.

“The best thing is we really talked to each other and figured out what we were doing wrong. After that it was fine, we did really well.”

Mays had told Lesniak at school last week he was going to get two picks.

“He’s a freshman and he made some goals and said he was going to get two interceptions,” Lesniak said. “He did it. He had a heck of a game.”

Bravieri finished with 14-of-24 passing for 132 yards. Centnarowicz led the Skyhawks with 52 rushing yards.

Creighton led North with 20 carries and 110 yards.

Thunder coach Matt Pollnow thought the start to the second half was crucial.

“That’s what killed us,” he said. “They three-and-outted us. On the jet roll, our kid took a good first step, but he got backdoored by (Ameachi). That was a tough play.

“We played one good half of football. Our kids were executing really well in the first half. Second half wasn’t as well-executed as we needed it to be, especially with option football.”

Johnsburg 25, Woodstock North 12

Johnsburg 0 6 13 6 – 25

Woodstock N. 0 12 0 0 – 12

Second quarter

WN–Creighton 2 run (pass failed), 11:23.

J–Bravieri 1 run (kick blocked), 4:48.

WN–Dennison 6 pass from Creighton (pass failed), 0:32.

Third quarter

J–Centnarowicz 1 run (Benz kick), 9:00.

J–Vallone 12 fumble recovery (kick failed), 7:36.

Fourth quarter

J–Bravieri 1 run (pass failed), 6:38.

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING–Johnsburg: Centnarowicz 13-52, Bravieri 8-41, Mueller 6-34, Ameachi 4-19, Team 2-minus 2. Totals: 33-144. Woodstock North: Creighton 20-110, Combs 11-33, Halihan 7-26, Pena 4-18, Dennison 1-3. Totals: 43-192.

PASSING–Johnsburg: Bravieri 14-24-1-132. Woodstock North: Creighton 5-13-3-69.

RECEIVING–Johnsburg: Frost 5-45, Brock 3-13, Schaefer 2-25, Russell 2-16, Stern 1-12, Centnarowicz 1-11. Woodstock North: Dennison 3-28, Morrison 2-13, Menzel 1-11.

TOTAL TEAM YARDS–Johnsburg 276, Woodstock North 261.