Oswego rolls up 41-point halftime lead, beats Plainfield Central to stay undefeated

OSWEGO – Oswego as an underdog is a concept that sounds unheard of. It’s a program synonymous with success for decades, just three losing seasons since 1985.

But Taiden Thomas is holding fast to the idea.

Memories of an uncharacteristic losing season still burn with Thomas, a senior defensive end. Any lingering doubts of the Panthers are fuel.

[ Photos: Oswego vs. Plainfield Central ]

“The mindset this year is ‘Screw you, watch this,’” Thomas said. “We know we’re the underdogs and we love it. We treat ourselves like the underdogs. That is the energy. We keep emphasizing it wasn’t us last year. We’re putting teams on notice.”

They continued to serve notice Friday.

Oswego scored touchdowns on its first seven possessions with six different players scoring, Dylan King accounting for the first two. Thomas’ two fumble recoveries highlighted another dominant performance by the defense. And the topper of it all was Jeremiah Cain’s spectacular one-handed touchdown catch in Oswego’s 48-3 win over visiting Plainfield Central in a Southwest Prairie Conference crossover.

Thomas and Cain both seemed to carry a healthy chip on their shoulder for an Oswego (3-0) team that’s already matched last year’s win total – and looks like it will be a force to be reckoned with once SPC West play begins in two Fridays.

“Everybody had us as the underdog, 3-6,” Cain said. “We went from 3-6 to a wild card. It’s crazy how we win a couple games and that happens.”

Crazy was Cain’s touchdown grab in the first minute of the second quarter.

With Oswego already leading 21-0, Cain corralled Bret Connolly’s throw with one hand in the back left corner of the end zone.

“I just saw the rotation of the ball, I didn’t think I could get both hands on it so I just went up and got it with one hand,” Cain said. “Game-wise, that’s definitely No. 1, my best catch ever – but I practice those all the time.”

King scored TD runs of 1 and 2 yards on Oswego’s first two possessions, the second set up by Connolly’s 38-yard keeper, and Noah Vera’s 7-yard TD run made it 21-0.

Brogan Mello threw a 6-yard TD pass to Michael Kelly and Lucas Andersen scored on an 18-yard TD for a 41-0 halftime lead, Oswego rolling up 191 first-half rushing yards.

“The mentality of this group, now with our third win I think the memories of last year are starting to fade,” Oswego coach Brian Cooney said. “We realize we have a new group of guys, we’ve revamped how we do some things as a coaching staff with how we prep. It was good to see us get back to that orange and blue mentality tonight running the football.”

Meanwhile, Oswego’s defense held Plainfield Central to 52 yards and three first downs in the first half and Mikey Claycombe recovered a Wildcats’ muffed kickoff return to set up another score. Oswego’s first-team defense has allowed just one combined score over the first three games.

“We emphasize swarming to the ball, all 11 guys to the ball and as coach Cooney says bring the cow bell,” Thomas said. “We’re taking it one day at a time, swarming.”

Plainfield Central (1-2) avoided a shutout with Marshall DeGraff’s field goal on the final play of the game.

“That’s a great Oswego team and coach Cooney and his staff do a great job. There’s a reason why they’ve been so successful for so many years,” Plainfield Central coach Rob Keane said. “They played a lot of young guys last year and they’re getting the payoff of that now.

“For us, we’re a year behind that. We’re in a position where we have young guys and we’re playing them and cutting our teeth with some positions. Hopefully we’re able to come back with a great week of practice and bounce back.”