The past few football seasons haven’t been kind to Plainfield East.

The Bengals have not qualified for the playoffs since 2021, and they finished last season with a 2-7 record.

With Friday night’s 55-6 win over Joliet Central, Plainfield East has already exceeded last year’s win total and is one of the 108 teams in Illinois that haven’t lost a game.

It has been a change in attitude that has the Bengals flying high under first-year coach Dan Stekala.

“We worked a lot harder in the weight room and summer workouts than we did before,” East running back David Croom III said after racking up 113 yards and three TDs on 11 carries Friday night. “There’s a lot of talent here.”

Stekala came to Plainfield East after spending last season as a graduate assistant at the University of St. Francis. Before that, he launched the football program at Farragut and was the head coach for two seasons.

“We brought some of the coaches back from the previous staff, and we had a lot of players returning,” Stekala said. “What I wanted to do was establish a good culture, and I think we’ve done that. The kids have bought in and are having success.”

MORRIS DOES IT WITH DEFENSE

After allowing 54 points a game in four losses to Peoria since 2014, Morris was able to slow down the Lions enough to come away with a 35-28 win Saturday. As would be expected, there were several standouts on defense.

Defensive back Kazden Klinker had a fumble recovery and an interception that he returned to the Peoria 2-yard line to set up the offense for a three-yard touchdown run by quarterback Bryce Varner. The defensive line was a constant presence, disrupting the Lions’ powerful rushing attack. Tomatoa Le’au, Bryce Lee, Malachi Congo, Chase Bachert, Devin Perry, Logan Sparrow and Chris Zierman rotated in and out of the game and all performed well.

“Shout out to [defensive coordinator Ryan] Coach Clauson,” Le’au said. “He doesn’t get enough credit for all the work he puts in. He watched hours and hours of film on Peoria and had us ready for them.”

WHEREFORE ART THOU ROMEOVILLE

As noted earlier, this has been the best start to a season for Plainfield East in quite some time. For Romeoville, however, it’s been even longer.

Following its 32-16 win at Plainfield Central on Friday, Romeoville is 3-0. This is the first time since 1995 that the Spartans have started the season with three straight wins.

For reference, Bill Clinton was president, Forrest Gump won Best Picture and Steve Young was the Super Bowl MVP. It was 12 years before the oldest players on Romeoville’s roster were even born.

It’s been an impressive start all around. The Spartans beat Stagg 20-19 in Week 1, showing an ability to squeeze out close contests. They followed that with a 27-8 victory against Tinley Park, displaying a strong defense. Scoring 32 points on Plainfield Central showed what they’re capable of on offense.

Quarterback Richard Conley has thrown six touchdowns and run for more than 200 yards. Keilan Winfield has caught five of Conley’s six TDs. Caleb Patterson has two interceptions on defense.

Romeoville’s upcoming schedule is also favorable. Winless Plainfield North is next with 1-2 Joliet West after that. Games against 1-2 Joliet Central and winless Plainfield South are on the horizon as well. So, the Spartans appear to have a path to five wins and a playoff spot.

The Spartans finished 4-5 last year, just short of the postseason, and haven’t made it to the playoffs since 2013. Last year’s win total was the highest since that 2013 season, and the three they have right now tie the second-best mark in that time. It all adds up to good times rolling for Romeoville.

TIGER TIGER BURNING (NOT SO) BRIGHT

There’s no denying Plainfield North has had a rough start. The Tigers are 0-3 and were outscored 72-3 in their first two weeks against Lockport and York.

This past week against Oswego East was better. Plainfield North led at halftime and ultimately lost 21-9. That was against an undefeated team that cruised to victory the first two weeks, however. That’s an improvement over the first two weeks.

Head coach Anthony Imbordino had almost nothing to say after the loss, simply that his team needed to execute game plans better and that he wished Oswego East the best of luck. However, their play said the team is getting better. Romeoville will be a tough task, but games against Minooka and Bolingbrook present opportunities for wins in the coming weeks.

Week 3 results

Seneca 50, Clinton 0

Shelbyville 51, Dwight 48

Reed-Custer 28, Streator 21

Wilmington 41, Peotone 13

Coal City 49, Bloom 0

Providence 35, Carmel 28

Homewood-Flossmoor 28, Lockport 13

Lincoln-Way East 56, Neuqua Valley 7

Lincoln-Way West 17, Andrew 7

Lincoln-Way Central 43, Stagg 0

Lemont 49, Breman 7

Plainfield East 55, Joliet Central 6

Joliet West 30, Plainfield South 22

Oswego 42, Bolingbrook 7

Romeoville 32, Plainfield Central 16

Yorkville 14, Minooka 13

Oswego East 21, Plainfield North 9

Fenwick 43, Joliet Catholic 26

Morris 35, Peoria 28