Lincoln-Way West overcomes adversity, tops Lincoln-Way Central in overtime

NEW LENOX — Joey Campagna of Lincoln-Way West had been hearing it all week. Heck, he had been hearing it since last year.

He even heard it during warmups before Friday night’s SouthWest Suburban Red opener against cross-town rival Lincoln-Way Central.

The Knights beat the Warriors last season and were off to a 3-0 start this year. Heading into the rivalry game, there was plenty of trash talking.

Campagna let his feet do his talking.

The Warriors’ senior running back ran for 189 yards and two touchdowns as West handed Central its first loss of the season, 28-21 in overtime.

“We heard trash talking all week,” Campagna said. “I don’t let it bother me. There was one guy during warm-ups that was right in my face telling me that they were coming for me all day.

“It’s a rivalry game and you kind of expect that stuff, so it was important for us to come out early and set the tone.”

Campagna started the extra period with a four-yard gain and quarterback Chase Hetfleisch, filling in for injured Cole Crafton, threw an incompletion on second down. On third down, though, he found a wide-open Jacob Bereza in the left corner of the end zone, and Zach Hermanson’s extra point gave West a 28-21 lead. The Warrior defense then held Central out of the end zone on the Kinghts’ OT possession and walked off of Jonas H. Lashmet Field with the victory.

“With Cole out, we knew we were going to have to run the ball quite a bit,” Campagna said. “I was ready to come out and play hard tonight. Chase did a great job, and it feels amazing to get this win. They beat us last year and that stung all year, so now they get to feel it for a year.”

Central staged a dramatic comeback to tie it, as West rolled to a 21-0 halftime lead. Campagna had 95 yards and both of his TDs in the first half, and Hetfleisch also connected with Austin Roswell for a 32-yard TD pass. Meanwhile, the Warrior defense gave Central very little room to move.

The Central defense started the second-half comeback when Ben Rafferty intercepted a Hetfleisch pass and returned it 25 yards for a touchdown less than a minute into the third quarter. The Knights got a 23-yard TD pass from Michael Kuehl to Braden Meyer with 8:17 to play, making it 21-14.

The Warriors appeared on their way to putting the game away on the ensuing drive, but a bad snap on a field goal attempt gave the Knights a glimmer of hope.

It was all they needed.

On third-and-5, Kuehl lofted a deep pass down the middle of the field. Jimmy Herget ran under it and caught it in stride just past midfield and outran the West defense into the end zone for a 72-yard touchdown with 1:45 left, tying the game.

“You expect a game like this when it’s a rivalry game,” West coach Luke Lokanc said. “Our defense did a great job, especially in the first half. We shot ourselves in the foot a couple times, but they were able to finish it at the end.

“Joey Campagna is a very talented player, but he is just as great of a person and a leader. The team and the staff came together after a loss last week and beat a cross-town rival. Chase Hetfleisch is a great quarterback and did a great job. Now, we hope we can keep it going into next week.”

Hetfleisch was 9-for-15 for 108 yards and two touchdowns for West, while Kuehl finished 7-of-21 for 188 yards and led Central with 49 rushing yards on 13 carries.

The Warriors needed the running game to be a force, as starting quarterback Cole Crafton was injured last week and will miss the rest of the season.