Nuri Muhammad runs for 170 yards, 5 TDs as Lincoln-Way East rolls past Andrew

TINLEY PARK - Nuri Muhammad grew up around Lincoln-Way East football, watching his older brother Nigel play running back for the Griffins before graduating in 2017.

Nuri, a senior, has waited patiently for his chance to shine in the backfield. Now is his time.

“I’m just very thankful for coach (Rob) Zvonar giving me the opportunity to play,” Muhammad said. “I’m just really proud of the team’s effort in practice week in and week out. We’re playing to win. We want to go to state and win it all over again.”

Muhammad had a career night Friday, running for 170 yards and five touchdowns on 18 carries as the Griffins rolled to a 49-7 win over host Andrew in a SouthWest Suburban Conference crossover.

Zion Gist added 62 yards and a touchdown on nine carries for Lincoln-Way East (5-0), while backup quarterback Jacob Ritter threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Preston Simard.

The lone score for Andrew (3-2) came on an 100-yard interception return for a touchdown by Jack LoConte.

LoConte and Ryan Burns both had interceptions for the Thunderbolts, accounting for pretty much the lone blemishes on an otherwise dominant night for the Griffins.

Braden Tischer completed 7-of-13 passes for 144 yards and the two interceptions for Lincoln-Way East.

“That was our second red zone turnover in two weeks and this one caught us a touchdown, but other than the two interceptions, it was a pretty clean night,” Zvonar said. “We came out and did a lot of what we wanted to do. We took a step in the right direction, but our schedule is tough. I think we’re going to end up playing eight or nine playoff teams. We’ve got to be ready every week, starting with Lockport next week.”

The Griffins got the running game going early, with Muhammad scoring on touchdown runs of 10 and 2 yards - the latter coming on fourth-and-goal. Gist added a 3-yard scoring run to make it 21-0 in the first quarter.

Zvonar was thrilled to see Muhammad have such a big night.

“What a great back he is and what you don’t know about Nuri Muhammad just by watching him play is that as good as he is out here, he’s even better as a human being off the field,” Zvonar said. “He’s a really special, sweet young man and he’s got a huge future ahead of him.

“When we can have that two-headed monster with Nuri and Zion, that’s a pretty nice attack.”

Muhammad was quick to give credit to his teammates.

“It’s definitely a confidence builder, but a lot of the credit goes to the team,” Muhammad said. “I couldn’t do it without them. Josh Janowski is a great center. He’s going to Iowa. All the guys up front are just sensational blockers. Our receivers did a great job blocking. I couldn’t ask for anything better.”

Andrew, after the interception return touchdown by LoConte, was threatening to make it a tight game going into halftime. Down 28-7 following Muhammad’s third touchdown run, the Thunderbolts drove down to the Griffins’ 10-yard line with under a minute to go.

But Lincoln-Way East defensive end Mike Jemilo jumped in front of an attempted screen pass for an interception.

“I’ve got to thank the coaches,” Jemilo said. “They told us what to do when the quarterback rolls out. I have to thank my teammates. We all know we’re going to do our jobs and we trust each other. I was just there to make a play.”

Jemilo said that trust was key in defending Andrew’s triple-option offense. The Griffins held the Thunderbolts to 180 total yards. Dylan Weathers and Charlie Cosich also had interceptions for Lincoln-Way East.

“Everyone had their own job to do and when we all do our job, there’s nothing for them to do,” Jemilo said.