MINOOKA – A cloudy, cool night made it feel like a fall football game, but the big difference was the stadium. Minooka christened the new-look football field with a thrilling 34-27 victory over Oswego East in a Southwest Prairie Conference game Friday night.
With the home team now on the west side of the field with a backdrop of the new stands and a press box that goes from 40-yard line to 40-yard line, the settings were as impressive as the team on the field.
“This is a college-type atmosphere stadium, and I’m so thankful to everyone that we now have this great facility,” Minooka coach Matt Harding said. “Tonight was unbelievable, and it shows that our kids are fighters. It doesn’t feel like March right now, it feels like a playoff type of feeling.”
With the game tied 21-all, Oswego East had a fourth and one with 2:28 remaining in the game on their own 40-yard line. Wolves’ running back Darquel Sanders went around the right corner and down the sideline for a 60-yard touchdown run, but the Wolves missed the extra point to make it 27-21, and things didn’t look good for the Indians.
On the ensuing kickoff, junior wide receiver and return man Trevor Hudak picked up the ball and went 96 yards to tie the game at 27, and all the Indians needed was the extra point. However, a bad snap left the game tied with 2:15 remaining.
“We were close all game long at breaking one, especially up the middle,” Hudak said. “But I saw everyone go to the middle, I made a move to my right and I saw this big hole and took it to the house. We had great blocking on that return because I don’t think I was touched.”
Oswego East could not get anything going on their next possession and Minooka took over on their own 37-yard line with 1:48 left. Chunk plays from quarterback Josh Davis, both through the air and on the ground, put the ball on the East 17-yard line with 26 seconds remaining.
Davis found Hudak in the right corner of the end zone and threw a perfect high pass that only Hudak could catch, and that was the game-winner.
“This week, our practice was about discipline,” Davis said. “That was a big part of why we won tonight. We were up, then down, and we battled and stayed in this game till the end.”
Oswego East struck first after receiving the opening kickoff. The Wolves scored on their third play from scrimmage on a 42-yard run from Oshobi Odior at the 10:54 mark in the first quarter.
Minooka came right back and drove 81 yards in 16 plays as Zach Wingerter scored from a yard out to tie the game at 7 with only 16 seconds left in the quarter.
Minooka recovered the pooch kickoff, and then on the first play Davis hit Hudak with a 24-yard touchdown pass, and the Indians grabbed a 14-7 lead with :08 left in the first quarter.
With 4:18 left before halftime, the Wolves began on their own 20 and drove to the Minooka 1. Two consecutive keepers by QB Michael Ford were stopped by the Minooka defense as the half ended.
“That goal-line stand right before half was huge for us,” Harding said. “We are not big, but our kids did everything right, and that is how they practice. I have so much respect for the kids on both teams, especially after a game like this. For what we have been all through the past year and it shows that these kids are resilient, but what these kids are learning will help them later in life.”
Ford was 9 for 17 for 129 yards and ran for 33 yards for Oswego East. Sanders had 136 yards on nine carries with two TDs, and Odior ran for 94 yards and two TDs for the Wolves, who were hurt by 11 penalties for 75 yards.
“Minooka is a good football team, and there were two good football teams out here tonight,” Oswego East coach Tyson LeBlanc said. “We have to coach better on the kickoffs, and we saw it all night tonight because Minooka came close to breaking a few of them, but it’s hard to make those adjustments during the game on a special team like that.”
“We also have to clean up the penalties because those are momentum killers on both sides of the ball.”