Aside from a late-season setback to Bradley-Bourbonnais, Lincoln-Way West has had little trouble winning this season. Only two of their nine victories entering Saturday were within one possession.

So when the Warriors found themselves trailing late in the first quarter Saturday against Kenwood, it was unfamiliar territory. Still, quarterback Grant Tustin and company didn’t panic.

“We believed in ourselves the whole time,” he said. “There was never a point in that game in which we thought we were going to lose.”

And they didn’t.

Tustin ended the first quarter with a 53-yard pass and the Warriors scored 21 straight points in the second quarter, including 14 in the final 11 seconds. They didn’t let up in the second half as they beat the Broncos 43-20.

The victory advances Lincoln-Way West to the 7A quarterfinals against 19th-seeded Downers Grove North.

“This group is so special because there’s 37 seniors,” coach Luke Lokanc said. “The leadership is unbelievable. We’ve been teaching these kids one day at a time. We can only worry about how to get to the next week by worrying about today. This staff I have is the best in the state, I love these seniors, I love this program.”

The Warriors moved the ball well early on, but had to settle for a pair of Zach Hermanson field goal attempts to open the game. The first one, from 35 yards, was good to give Lincoln-Way West a 3-0 lead midway through the first, but the second, from 41, was wide left.

In the final minute of the opening period, however, the Warriors found themselves trailing. Kenwood quarterback Keyonte Louis ripped off down the left sideline for a 35-yard touchdown run to give the Broncos a 6-3 edge.

Like Tustin said, though, the Warriors remained composed. After the long pass to close the first quarter, the signal caller connected with Ethan Swanson on a 10-yard TD early in the second to put the Warriors in front for good, 10-6.

After Jackson Mansker recovered a Kenwood fumble, the Warriors slowly drained the clock off and moved the ball down the field. The drive ended with a one-yard TD plunge by Jahan Abubaker to stretch the lead to 17-6 with 11 seconds left in the half.

Kenwood decided to try and score with no time left on the clock, but Louis was picked off by Jimmy Talley. The senior ran the interception back 23 yards for a score and a 24-6 lead at the midway point.

The Warrior defense earned a three-and-out to start the second half and the Broncos went to punt. The snap was high, however, and sailed into the end zone. Kingston Watson recovered for Kenwood, but was tackled for a safety. On the ensuing possession, Hermanson connected on a 24-yard field goal attempt to stretch the lead to 29-6.

Tustin ran the ball in from 23 yards out later and Abubaker earned the final TD of the afternoon for Lincoln-Way West on a 5-yard scamper. Kenwood scored two TDs against the Warrior subs to make the score more respectable.

Tustin finished with 142 yards passing on 10-of-15 attempts. He also ran for 61 yards while Abubaker led the offense with 162 on the ground.

Chase Markowicz also had an interception for Lincoln-Way West while Talley added a sack. Noah Wendt (two tackles for a loss, two pass breakups) and Gavin Larson (two sacks) were fantastic on the day.

Louis led the effort for the Broncos with 216 passing yards and 162 rushing yards. He was responsible for all three touchdowns. Lawrence Carr hauled in five catches for 129 yards and a score.

The seventh-seeded Warriors will now head on the road to take on Downers Grove North. Tustin expressed confidence that Lincoln-Way West will be ready to answer the call.

“We’re going to put in a great week of practice this week,” he said. “That’s what we’ve done the last two weeks and it’s what we’re going to do this week. Then, we’re going to go out next weekend and we’re going to beat Downers Grove North.”