Just about everything went right for Oswego East in the first half Friday night in the opening round of the Class 8A playoffs against Bolingbrook.

But the Wolves got a steady diet of TJ Lewis in the second half. The Raiders junior running back finished the night with 181 yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries to help lead his team to a 30-20 victory.

Quarterback Tyson Ward ran for 92 yards and two TDs on 16 carries. Bolingbrook will play the winner of Saturday’s Warren-New Trier game in the second round next week and will be on the road no matter who wins.

“We faced some adversity in the first half,” Lewis said. “Once we got to halftime, we talked and we knew we were going to come out and win this game. The offensive line did a great job, and so did the defense.

“As an offense, we want to score every time we have the ball, but if we don’t, we know we can count on the defense to get the ball back in a good spot for us to score next time.”

Oswego East (6-4) struck first when senior linebacker Noah Snow returned an interception 23 yards for a touchdown. Caden Bregar’s extra point put the Wolves ahead 7-0.

Bolingbrook (8-2) answered quickly, needing just five plays to cover 61 yards on the ensuing drive, with Lewis speeding up the right sideline for a 45-yard touchdown run, and Geno Vargas’ kick tied it up at 7 with just 20.5 seconds left in the first quarter.

Oswego East made another big defensive play midway through the second quarter when Jamari McKay blocked a Bolingbrook field goal attempt, and teammate Kam Williams picked up the loose ball and returned it 85 yards for a touchdown and a 14-7 lead. The Wolves’ defense then forced a punt, and the offense drove to the Bolingbrook 8-yard line.

On fourth-and-goal from the 8, the Wolves lined up for a field goal, but Bolingbrook was flagged for encroachment. Oswego East elected to try for the touchdown from the 3, but the pass fell incomplete.

The Wolves’ McKay intercepted a Bolingbrook pass on the next drive, and East kept the ball until halftime, taking a 14-7 lead into intermission.

“We did some good things in the first half,” East coach Tyson LeBlanc said. “Those are plays you need to have if you are going to win a playoff game. It hurt when we didn’t score from the 3-yard line, but you aren’t going to win playoff games by kicking field goals.

“No. 4 [Lewis] is a horse, but our defense made him work for the yards he got. This was a good experience for these kids. We brought up some younger guys, and they got to have an extra week of practice and see what playoff football is all about. After they got up a couple of scores, it was tough for us because we had to throw and they have a very good pass rush.”

Jasiah Watson ran for 113 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries for the Wolves. When they tried to pass, though, the Bolingbrook defensive front, including sophomore Darieon Prescott, junior Raymond George and junior Peyton Brooks, chased East quarterback Nico Villacci all over the field.

Bolingbrook didn’t take the lead until the third quarter was nearly over when Lewis spun off a hit in the backfield and scored from three yards out. He then ran in the two-point conversion to put the Raiders ahead 15-14.

After a three-and-out by East, Bolingbrook drove 68 yards on 11 plays, with Ward scoring on a 10-yard run. Lewis again added the conversion and Bolingbrook took a 23-14 lead with 5:12 to play. East turned it over on downs at the Bolingbrook 27 and this time Ward capped the drive with a 9-yard scoring run with 2;36 to play. Oswego East got a 1-yard TD run by Watson with 41 seconds left to provide the final score.

“Two things that win in the playoffs are a running game and a good defense,” Bolingbrook coach Titcus Pettigrew said. “We have some good perimeter players, but we want to get that running game going.

“When I took over as head coach, the first thing I did was put all my top dogs on defense. If we can stop teams from scoring, then we’re in every game. And, out of our 22 starters tonight, 17 of them are coming back next year. We’re young, but we are very talented and getting better every week.”