Oswego East came into the season hoping to bounce back from last year’s 4-5 campaign, while Joliet West was hoping to keep the momentum going from the past two years. It’s just one game, but so far, Oswego East appears to be on the right track while Joliet West has a lot of work to do.

Oswego East ran the opening kickoff back 95 yards for a touchdown and never looked back as they dominated Joliet West en route to a 41-0 road victory to open the season.

The offense for Oswego East (1-0) managed to score three touchdowns before Joliet West got three first downs. Even when the Tigers managed to move the ball, the Wolves seemed to make a play, compiling four sacks and three interceptions.

“We’re working one day at a time,” coach Tyson LeBlanc said. “We’ve fallen short of our expectations the past few years and we’ve done a really good job this offseason of focusing on the little things. We don’t have a lot of guys on our sideline but we were able to come out and execute pretty well tonight.”

Oswego East didn’t punt until there were 45 seconds left in the game, and aside from 10 penalties, couldn’t be faulted for much.

After Jamari McKay ran back the opening kickoff 95 yards for a score, Joliet West looked like it’d make it a shootout. Landon Mars appeared to hit Jordan Bennett for a 73-yard touchdown, but the play was wiped out by a penalty and Joliet West ultimately had to punt.

The Wolves offense continued to march. After converting on a third and 17, Oswego East needed just four more plays before quarterback Niko Villacci scampered into the end zone from four yards out to make it 14-0.

A quick three-and-out by the Tigers was followed by a 29-yard run by Villacci to open the next Oswego East drive. The second play? A 25-yard touchdown toss from Villacci to Lincoln Ijames to extend it to 20-0 before the end of the first.

Joliet West started to drive from there, picking up three first downs the next possession, only to see Noah Snow end the march with an interception. Juice Watson punched it in from two yards out on the next Wolves possession, making it 27-0.

A strong kick return by the Tigers gave them starting possession at midfield the next drive, but they were unable to move the ball. Oswego East got it back, and Villacci ran it in for a 15-yard score to increase the advantage to 34-0 before halftime.

“We were really executing on all cylinders,” Villacci said. “We got out hot with Jamari McKay’s return. We started hot and never stopped.”

Credit Joliet West for not surrendering. They started the second half with the ball, and quarterback Landon Mars and running back Greg Lee moved the chains effectively. They twice converted on fourth down, reaching the Oswego East seven, but they weren’t able to convert a third time as the Wolves got the ball back.

Oswego East converted twice on fourth down themselves the next possession, the second one on a 36-yard scoring strike from Villacci to Tom Donovan to trigger a running clock, 41-0.

Villacci finished the contest with two scores on the ground and two through the air. He was 11 of 14 passing for 198 yards with another 54 on the ground. Jackson Ponto and Ty’Rel Thomas each had a pair of sacks on the night. Taylor Zmarion and Brandon Solis also had interceptions on the night.

Joliet West was led by Sedrick Love’s two TFLs and Scott Nowacki’s fumble recovery. Coach Dan Tito wasn’t panicked after the game, noting the number of new players on the roster this year while praising Oswego East for their effort.

“I had the guys stand up if this was their first time playing meaningful varsity minutes in a game and 23 guys stood up,” he said. “A lot of us are still learning, but we have a great group of guys that I’m excited to be around. We’re going to get through this and be ready for the next game.”