Up a score in the second half, Bolingbrook’s TJ Lewis stood as the lone back in the backfield on third and long. Instead of settling for a field goal attempt, Lewis swerved through his offensive line and made a single cut before bursting downfield for a 23-yard score, his second of three touchdowns on the evening.

“My lineman made that block, and I got to it,” Lewis said. “We practiced it all week.”

Lewis was part of a two-headed monster for Bolingbrook that took down previously undefeated Oswego East 32-7 in a Southwest Prairie Conference West Division affair.

Bolingbrook’s (3-2, 1-1 SPC West) first possession was propelled by the pass, as quarterback Tyson Ward delivered a strike to Jeremiah Jenkins over the middle of the field for a 43-yard gain. Ward finished the drive off himself, punching it in from 8 yards out.

“We got a gift with Tyson,” Bolingbrook coach Titcus Pettigrew said. “One thing people have got to give him more credit for is his patience in the pocket.”

Oswego East (4-1, 1-1) responded with a 76-yard, nine-play drive, with 22 yards coming on a Niko Villacci pass to Tom Donovan, and another 25 on a downfield heave from Villacci to Jamari McKay, who made a remarkable grab, ripping the ball away from a defender draped on his back.

Julius Watson hit pay dirt from two yards out, one play after McKay’s catch for the Wolves’ lone score on the night.

“We’ve got to clean up the mistakes,” Oswego East coach Tyson LeBlanc said. “[We need] a little bit more physical toughness and a little bit more mental toughness.”

Lewis started to take the game over on Bolingbrook’s second drive, scoring from four yards out to give the Raiders a two-score lead.

Lewis carried the ball 31 times for 197 yards and three touchdowns, a performance topped only by his 210-yard effort against Simeon earlier this season.

“I know I’ve got to take a lot of carries,” Lewis said, “so I’ve got to have my wind in me at the end. “

The Raiders outgained the Wolves offensively in the first half, 253 to 82, with 151 of Bolingbrook’s yards coming on the ground.

In the second half, Ward and Lewis continued the ground-and-pound approach of the Raiders’ offense, as Ward scored from a yard out on an option play, and Lewis scored twice, once from 23 yards out, and finally from 10 yards out.

“Our read-option game is amazing,” Lewis said. “Everybody’s so keyed in on tackling me, that every time [Ward] pulls it, he gets 10 yards plus, every time.”

Ward carried the ball 18 times for 110 yards and two touchdowns, while completing eight of his 15 pass attempts for 141 yards.

Two weeks ago, Bolingbrook surrendered over 40 points to Oswego. Since then, the Raider defense has held opponents to just seven points over its last eight quarters and kept an explosive Oswego East offense to just 160 yards tonight while forcing two interceptions and a fumble.

“We’re getting healthy,” Pettigrew said about his defensive unit. “It’s getting scary, because on that defense, I think we’re only losing two [next year]. They’re young, they’re maturing right before our eyes and it’s going to be a sight down the road to see.”

Despite offensive struggles to move the ball, Oswego East did find success within its kick return unit, including a 67-yard return by Zamarion Taylor.

“Our kickoff return has been very good,” LeBlanc said. “But you don’t want to be on kick return a lot, and we were on kick return too much.”

Taylor finished the night with 114 return yards.

Pettigrew saw tonight as a turning point for his young team.

“We have a lot of talent, but they had to buy into the culture and being held accountable for certain things,” he said. “When we got that part right, I told them we were going to fight back and show people that they might not want to play us come playoffs.”

After tonight’s win, Lewis can see his coach’s vision.

“Of course we can [make the playoffs],” he said.