Zamarion Tayler had to contend with some inclement conditions last Friday in addition to the usual challenges of being a return man.

He hardly looked like a fish out of water.

On a rainy evening the Oswego East senior returned a punt 77 yards for a touchdown, and a kickoff 80 yards for a second score.

It was one of the Wolves’ many highlights in a 77-0 win over Joliet Central to stay unbeaten.

“For the punt return it was harder for me to score because the field was slippery and wet. The punt was toward the left, bounced it out to the right and had to beat a couple guys down the field,” Taylor said. “Kick return, I had to outrun them a little bit and bounce it out so I could score on the wet field. It was harder to run being slippery.”

Taylor, who also plays defensive back, had four tackles as Oswego East’s defense posted its second shutout of the season.

He said he’s always been a kick returner, and did punt returning duties as a freshman and sophomore and is back there this season.

“I feel like they need somebody that’s really fast and can hit a hole quickly with the ball in his hands,” Taylor said. “I like that with kick returns I can do anything, there’s so much going on, find the hole and take off. The punt returns are way scarier. I have to look to see who is coming toward me, if it’s not there I’ll just fair catch.”

Taylor split running back duties for much of last season with Ty’Rel Thomas while Jasiah Watson was sidelined with injury and mono.

Now Watson is back, and Taylor and Thomas are both playing defense.

“He’s got a few carries on offense but other than that mostly defense and is doing well,” Oswego East coach Tyson LeBlanc said. “He’s an instinctual football player. He tackles well, he has good hands and good ball skills, he’s doing very well on defense.”

The Wolves have also had Lincoln Ijams return punts, but started putting Taylor back there a couple weeks into the season.

“He has good vision, he is elusive, he has good speed, he is physical when it comes to contact,” LeBlanc said. “He is a nice well-rounded ball carrier.”

Oswego East is 4-0 for the first time since 2021. The Wolves are one of three unbeaten teams left in the Southwest Prairie West (Oswego and Yorkville, the other two, play Friday), making the SPC West the only league in the state with three unbeatens left.

The Wolves have played teams with a combined 4-12 record and the schedule toughens considerably the second half of the season. Oswego East is at Bolingbrook Friday.

“I feel like we are in a good spot starting this year, especially after the last couple years we had,” LeBlanc said. “We know the toughest part of our schedule is still ahead. Take it week by week, day by day.

“We feel like we’ve done a pretty solid job running the ball, which makes life easier for [senior quarterback] Niko [Villacci]. We’ve been pretty pleased with our O-line with Jasiah a third-year varsity guy running behind them.”

Oswego still rolling along

Oswego also is unbeaten still after its tidy 44-7 win over Plainfield South last Friday, and has won 14 consecutive regular-season games dating back to Week 9 of the 2023 season.

Surprise?

There was some question as to what this particular Oswego team would look like after graduating all but a handful of starters from last year’s group, which went 9-0 during the regular season and won the SPC West.

But the Panthers have quickly affirmed that they’re still a force, outscoring four opponents by a combined 152-35.

“I didn’t know what to expect with this team coming in, but the way they have worked, the rate of progression they have had, is good to see,” Oswego coach Brian Cooney said. “We were learning to walk at the beginning of June, had some tough conversations in the coaches’ room. We needed some games under our belt. I have never gone into a season guaranteeing 4-0, but I’m happy with where we are at.

“If you told me at the beginning of the season we’d be 4-0 going into Week 5 I wouldn’t have fallen off the chair surprised. What is more impressive is the differential in the scores and explosive plays on all three phases of the ball.”

Oswego’s defense has looked similar to previous iterations in terms of results, but there is one significant difference on the sidelines, with Cooney no longer calling plays for the defense.

“John [Hugunin] is now calling plays for our defense. They’ve done a good job of mixing fronts and coverages well,” Cooney said. “He’s done a good job of dissecting film and putting kids in the right spot.

“Did a little bit of soul searching in the offseason. It’s a grind as a head coach, every year more so. John is a phenomenal coach who is ready for more. I don’t mind stepping aside and letting a young man take over. He’s done a great job.”

Yorkville’s defense getting it done

Yorkville, like Oswego, has long hung its hat on its defense – and this season has been no different.

The Foxes (4-0) have allowed just 33 points on the season. They are coming off a 28-0 win at Plainfield East, shutting out an offense that had scored 55 points in each of its first three games.

“Our coaches have done a great job giving kids the opportunity to be successful and we have really good coaches,” Yorkville coach Dan McGuire said, “but you can have the best coaches in America, but if kids aren’t receptive to ideas and coachable it won’t matter. A lot of credit to our kids for being coachable this year.

“It’s fun to watch kids grow. The kids have done a good job of getting a feel for what we do.”

Yorkville has had some standout defensive players in recent years that have gone on to play at the next level. This year’s group, while plenty talented, has been a collective effort.

“Another thing that’s neat about our defense is not only about one kid making a play,” McGuire said. “Week 1 [Jayden] Ruth made a big interception, Daniel Kraus has played really really well and Mark Smith had one of his better games on Friday night. They’re just a good group.”

It’s been a backfield by committee in recent weeks offensively as well, with junior Gavin Geegan receiving near the same workload as senior returning starter T.J. Harland.

Geegan rushed for 79 yards and two touchdowns last Friday while Harland went for 108 yards, the two combining for 20 carries.

“He’s done a good job of biding his time and being patient,” McGuire said of Geegan. “He’s always been a physical kid but something he has grown at the last couple weeks is he’s making that decisive cut and putting his foot in the ground.

“Young running backs a lot of times they’ll try to outrun people. The last two weeks Gavin has done a good job of understanding that we just need to get 4-5 yards and good things happen when he makes a decisive cut and uses that physicality and just runs with confidence. You could see as the game went along him running with more confidence.”

Plano, Sandwich drop Week 4 games

Plano and Sandwich both dropped Week 4 games last Friday in the Kishwaukee River Conference.

The Reapers (0-4, 0-2) lost to Woodstock North 14-7. Kolten Schimandle rushed for 51 yards and Plano’s only touchdown. Defensively sophomore linebacker Cooper Beaty had 16 tackles, 10 of them solos.

Sandwich (1-3, 1-1) was shut out by Johnsburg 28-0. Wyatt Gregory rushed for 83 yards and Nick Michalek 59 in the loss.