After last week’s loss to Lincoln-Way West where he was held to under 100 yards, Lincoln-Way Central running back Justin Cobbs made sure it wouldn’t happen twice.

The 5-foot-7 senior rushed for 168 yards and three touchdowns as the Knights played spoiler to DeKalb’s homecoming with a 45-7 victory on Friday night.

“This was definitely one of my best games,” Cobb said. “I just hit a switch, and I was able to do the best I could.”

Lincoln-Way Central finished the night with six touchdowns — five on the ground. Cobbs’ hat trick led the way, while senior wide receiver Lucas Andresen added a pair of rushing scores. Senior quarterback Drew Woodburn didn’t use his arm much, completing 5-of-7 passes with the Knights’ lone passing touchdown. 

“The score doesn’t reflect how hard DeKalb plays and how athletic (they are),” said Lincoln-Way Central coach Dave Woodburn. “They’re a good football team. It didn’t look like that, so I’m proud of the way our guys played and responded offensively.”

On the Barbs’ side, the offense only reached the end zone once. Quarterback Cole Latimer threw DeKalb’s lone touchdown and was sacked three times.

While DeKalb didn’t cough up any turnovers, the Barbs struggled to keep the sticks moving, going 1 for 10 on third-down conversions and 2 for 4 on fourth down.

“I didn’t think we played anywhere near what we’re capable of,” said DeKalb coach Derek Schneeman. “Against a team like that, you don’t even give yourself a chance.”

After the Barbs turned the ball over on downs on their opening drive, Lincoln-Way Central kicked off the scoring with a 10-yard touchdown pass from Woodburn to tight end Nicholas Angelini. The Knights scored again six plays later when Andresen took off for a 47-yard run to finish a one-play drive.

DeKalb responded late in the first quarter with Latimer’s 10-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Davis. Cobbs then officially made it a blowout with two rushing scores in the second quarter alone. Andresen tacked on another long touchdown run — 34 yards — with 29 seconds left in the first half to make it 35-7 at the midway point.

Lincoln-Way Central went on to score 10 points in the final 24 minutes. Junior kicker Zachary Trippeer contributed a 32-yard field goal midway through the third quarter before Cobbs added his third and final touchdown run.

Both sides sent out their second teams for the final quarter of action, eventually draining the clock to finalize a 45-7 result. Lincoln-Way Central improved to 4-1 as the Knights prepare to host undefeated Bradley-Bourbonnais.

Meanwhile, DeKalb drops to 2-3 with the loss, having suffered its second straight defeat at home. With four games left in the regular season, Schneeman’s message to his team is simple: Don’t look ahead.

“You’ve got to focus on the day-to-day. You can’t get caught up on what’s left on the schedule,” Schneeman said. “You’ve got to focus on coming to practice every day, working hard, getting better, and the rest will take care of itself.”