It’s easy to get caught up in Lincoln-Way East’s offense.

Quarterback Jonas Williams has committed to USC and has a talented stable of receivers, including Blaise LaVista, Jayden Cawthon, and Matt Orban, as well as running back Brody Gish, a Navy commit. The Griffins have scored 81 points in their two games this season, so the talk about the offense is well-founded.

What has been kind of lost in the big offensive numbers is the very low numbers that the defense has allowed. Defense has been the cornerstone of the Griffins throughout their history under coach Rob Zvonar, and this year’s edition may stack up against some of their best.

The Griffins have faced two high-powered offenses so far this season in Maine South and Kankakee, but they have allowed exactly zero points. They have even scored a pair of touchdowns. Jacob Onik returned an interception for a score against Maine South, one of the Griffins’ four picks in the game, and Aidan Cavanaugh recovered a bad punt snap in the end zone against Kankakee.

“It’s great for us to go against our own defense every day in practice,” Williams said. “We know that is the best defense we will see all year, and we see it almost every day. It makes Friday nights seem a lot easier when we don’t have to go up against them.”

MOVING ON UP

Jonas Williams continues his assault on the IHSA record book. After Friday night’s 41-0 win over Kankakee, he is currently fifth in IHSA history with 9,491 passing yards, with the record of 11,190 set by Nazareth’s Logan Malachuk within reach. Williams is tied for third all-time with 119 passing TDs, behind only Aurora Christian’s Jordan Roberts and Greenville’s Tyler Hutchinson.

“We had a once-in-a-generation talent a few years ago with AJ Henning,” Zvonar said about the former Griffin running back who is currently with the Miami Dolphins. “Now we have another one [Williams], and he touches the ball every play. It has been fun to watch.”

MORE MORRIS

Morris had a lot of reasons to be excited after its 33-14 win over Mahomet-Seymour last week. Caeden Curran’s nearly 200 yards of offense and Chace Bachert’s three sacks on defense were highly encouraging.

But it was also an all-around team effort. Quarterback Brady Varner accounted for two touchdowns, but could’ve easily had five if not for some drops in the end zone. Mick Smith had an interception, a tackle for a loss, and a rushing touchdown as well.

Despite losing superstar tight end Jack Wheeler to graduation, Morris returned many core contributors this season. Coach Alan Thorson was pleased with the effort while also expressing the need to keep getting better.

“We brought a core group back from a semifinal team last year,” he said. “I thought we made some good adjustments (after Mahomet-Seymour’s first touchdown) and then settled in. ...This offensive line has the potential to be one of the better O-lines in the state if they keep improving. We also have some running backs that are capable of doing some great things, too.”

They’ll need those pieces to come into place if they want to move to 3-0 this week.

Morris will have a Saturday trip to Peoria for a rematch of last year’s instant classic. Peoria came out on top of that game, also in week three, 58-52. Thorson said the team would enjoy Friday night’s win for 24 hours and then begin preparing for what they know will be a tough matchup.

“We’ve gone from a state semifinalist in Wilmington (week one), a 5A playoff team with Mahomet and now going to Peoria,” he said. “They have weapons all over the field, and we lost a close one to them last year. We haven’t even thought one second about them because our focus was on this game. It’s going to be a tough game, but I like our team a lot.”

SELL(ERS) HIGH

Joliet Central was unable to extend its win streak on Friday after falling to West Chicago 64-33. However, the 33 points were the Steelmen’s second-best offensive output dating back at least six years. They also had one heck of a performance from a rising star at running back.

Tristen Sellers put up a stat line worthy of note against the Wildcats. The sophomore ran the ball 26 times for an astonishing 226 yards with two touchdowns. If he can continue to average 8.7 yards per carry, Joliet Central may just put up its best win total since claiming three victories in 2018.