Entering Friday night’s contest, Plainfield North and Oswego East were seeking two very different things.

The Wolves were undefeated and unchallenged, knocking off Joliet West and Willowbrook in consecutive weeks by a 58-point margin. The Tigers were winless, having only scored three total points in two games against Lockport and York. One team seeking a continuation of dominance and one looking to break through. Something had to give.

In the end, neither team truly gave, but the Wolves certainly took.

A pair of second-half touchdown passes by Niko Villacci helped Oswego East overcome a halftime deficit and beat Plainfield North 21-9.

Oswego East is now 3-0 for the first time since 2021. While it trailed by two at halftime Friday, it looked much more like the team it was the first two weeks in the final two quarters.

“We just had to stay together as a team,” running back Jasiah Watson said. “We had a rough first half but that wasn’t us. We stayed true to ourselves in the second half and that’s why we dominated.”

The game looked like it would be a shootout in a lightning-paced first quarter. The very first play from scrimmage saw Watson burst loose up the middle for 52 yards into the end zone despite contact from a multitude of defenders. That put the Wolves up 7-0 just 39 seconds in.

Plainfield North didn’t need much time to pick up six themselves. A 39-yard completion from Jonnie Laurenti to Nick Wilson was followed by a 26-yard run by Julian Rodriguez to set up a four-yard TD run by Wilson. The extra point was blocked, however, and Plainfield North trailed 7-6 five minutes into the game.

It became a defensive battle in the second period. An interception by Tommy Spalding of the Tigers halted a Wolves drive, while another Oswego East possession stalled after a 44-yard field goal attempt by Caden Bregar was no good.

The Tigers managed to drive down the field on the back of their potent run game to set up a 25-yard field goal attempt by Caden Dyer. The kick was wobbly, but it was also good, giving Plainfield North a 9-7 edge at the midway point.

The second half saw the Wolves retake the lead midway through the third. Villacci connected with Jamari McKay for a 45-yard scoring strike to put Oswego East up 14-9. With 6:18 left in the game, Villacci delivered a highlight reel play, connecting with Mason Davis in the back corner of the end zone while on the run to put the Wolves up 21-9.

Plainfield North managed a late-game drive, but the clock ran out before it could cut it closer. Watson finished with 91 rushing yards while Villacci added 94 yards through the air. Not a dominant statistical output, but Villacci couldn’t care less.

“No one on this team cares about stats,” Villacci said. “All I care about is the win. Last two years starting out 0-2 was rough. We haven’t beaten (Plainfield North) in a few years so being 3-0 is just really great.”

Plainfield North (0-3) put forth its best performance of the season without question. Wilson put together 80 yards of offense while Rodriguez ran for 92. The team has been dealing with a swath of injuries as well, including to quarterback Easton Isaacson. There was a great deal of improvement Friday night, which bodes well for the coming weeks.

Coach Anthony Imbordino kept the message simple after the game.

“We need to execute game plans efficiently,” he said. “Oswego East is a good football team. We wish them the best of luck.”

Oswego East will next host Joliet Central and look to start 4-0 for the first time since 2021. Coach Tyson LeBlanc said the biggest key to making that happen will be continuing to believe in themselves.

“(The biggest difference this year is) belief,” he said. “(There’s a) belief we can win games like this. Last year we had games like this where we were down at halftime and we lost. This year there’s been a belief that we can win in those situations so that’s been really big.”