Cam Loghmani’s flair for the big play starts with watching film and picking up tendencies.

And then instincts take over.

Such was the case late in the fourth quarter last Friday, with Oswego clinging to a three-point lead on Naperville North.

On a screen pass, Loghmani and Oswego teammate Mariano Velasco came together for a huge hit. It jarred the ball loose, Loghmani scooped it up and returned it 35 yards for a touchdown that all but locked up the 17-7 Class 8A first-round win.

“We were ready for the screen, it came and I started running, me and Mariano hit him at the same time, I saw the ball pop up loose and I picked him up and started running,” said Loghmani, who also had 10 tackles in the win. “On the sidelines everybody was hyped up. I was thinking yeah this probably put the game away.”

It’s the latest big play that’s led to points for Loghmani, Oswego’s junior strongside linebacker, in his first full varsity season.

Loghmani intercepted a pass on the first play from scrimmage Oswego’s first game of the season at Naperville Central, setting up a touchdown.

“I was pretty nervous, adrenaline started kicking in,” Loghmani said. “But we ran that play close to 20 times in practice. I was ready.”

In Week 3, Loghmani blocked a punt that Dontrell Young took in for a touchdown, part of a flurry of big special teams plays in Oswego’s 42-7 win over Bolingbrook.

“It’s a great feeling every time I can make a play like that,” Loghmani said. “At the end of the day turnovers are one of the biggest things defensively. When I can provide them it’s good. That’s always the goal.”

Loghmani was brought up to the playoffs last year and did primarily special teams. This is his first season as a full-time starter for an Oswego team that graduated all three linebackers from last year’s group.

“It’s basically a whole new team,” Loghmani said. “I just wanted to take on a new position, help the team out.”

Loghmani missed three games after the Bolingbrook win with appendicitis, but is back for an Oswego team that’s won its last three games. The Oswego defense has allowed just 96 points over 10 games.

“I didn’t like being on the sidelines too much,” Loghmani said. “Had to make it back for a playoff run.”

Next up is a trip to Lane on Saturday as Oswego seeks its first quarterfinal appearance since 2017.

What’s the scouting report?

“They are a pretty skinny team, tells me they got to be fast,” Loghmani said. “We have to contain the outside, force them in, stuff the fun, get some turnovers, hopefully some interceptions.”

Lane’s unlikely journey here

Oswego’s second-round opponent, Lane, is coming off the program’s first playoff win in 21 years, 34-6 last Friday over Perspectives/Leadership.

The Champions overcame much to get here.

Lane lost its starting running back and best player, Vernon Cole, for four games with an ankle injury. At one point, due to injuries, the Champions were starting three sophomores along their offensive line. Lane’s No. 1 receiver missed time and the Champions made a quarterback change midway through the year.

“If I had told you how many starters we had out, you wouldn’t have believed we’d be here,” Lane coach Deshon Conley said.

Conley is in his first year as Lane head coach, an assistant five years prior to that. He estimated that when he first got to the school they probably had 55 kids out for football, varsity and JV combined. Now there are over 120 with teams at all three levels.

“These past 2-3 seasons the growth has been unfathomable,” he said. “This being a selective enrollment school a lot of kids that would want to come here can’t test in at times. It’s definitely a challenge but we’re making the most of what we have for sure.”

It helps to have a kid like Cole, who also plays defensive back. Cole returned for limited action in Week 9 but played more last Friday.

“We are a different team without Vernon, happy to have him back,” Conley said, “but we found out in his absence that we have some other kids. Glad to give them experience. There’s sometimes we need to lean on them because teams are keying on No. 1.”

Oswego will be just the third non-CPS team Lane has played this season. The Champions (9-1) beat Shepard and T.F. South the season’s first two weeks. Their only loss came to Payton.

“Oswego, they will be the toughest team we have faced,” Conley said. “They are a well-coached team, they are used to playing in November. They are well-coached, limit their mistakes. They are sound and physical.”

Inside the numbers

Aside from the first drive, Oswego’s defense got it done in Friday’s 17-7 win over Naperville North.

The Panthers surrendered 234 yards, 125 on the ground, but 80 of those 234 came on the drive. Oswego allowed just 154 the rest of the game, only 72 in the second half.

“They took it to us on that first drive, they have some guys who can really impact you but it wasn’t anything that we didn’t know was coming,” Oswego coach Brian Cooney said. “That quickly flipped once our guys got a little more confidence. Defense really did its job the rest of the night.”

Oswego itself rushed for 126 yards between six different players, the leading rusher being quarterback Drew Kleinhans with just 35 yards.

Alex Mielcarz contributed to this story.