Lincoln-Way East shows its playoff prowess in win over Minooka

MINOOKA – Even though this a younger football team than Lincoln-Way East usually puts into the Class 8A playoff grinder, this Griffins group seems to understand there’s a playoff standard that everyone is expected to follow.

A workman-like effort Saturday night showed that once again that Lincoln-Way East has a playoff formula that works, and its players follow that blueprint to the letter, utilizing it to carry them to a relatively easy 35-7 victory over Minooka in the second round of the Class 8A playoffs.

The win lifts the Griffins (9-2) into this weekend’s quarterfinal round where it will travel to Loyola (11-0). Loyola upended Naperville Central, 36-7. It is Lincoln-Way East’s fifth consecutive quarterfinal appearance and eighth time advancing this far in the past nine full seasons.

“We know we have to level up each game in the playoffs,” Lincoln-Way East running back Trey Johnson said. “Because each one gets harder, and that’s the what we did. There’s just a different mood and aura each week in practice, and I really think that’s changing us.”

Johnson got the Griffins going with an electric 52-yard touchdown run at the 7:53 mark of the first quarter, but it was the only real dent either team made toward scoring over the game’s next 15 minutes.

But while Lincoln-Way East’s offense wasn’t exactly tearing it up, the Griffins defense was terrorizing Minooka, giving up virtually no ground and forcing most of the first half to be played in Indian territory.

Lincoln-Way East’s precision finally paid dividends late in the second quarter as it marched down the field and took a 14-0 lead when James Kwiecinski burst through the line for a 25-yard score. Minooka was able to answer that score by exercising a near perfect two-minute drill just before halftime as Trevor Hudak scored on a 7-yard touchdown reception with 22 seconds remaining in the half.

Minooka couldn’t take that momentum into the third quarter, however. East opened the third quarter with a 11-play drive that featured 10 runs from Johnson, who capped the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run.

After forcing a quick Minooka punt, East was back in the endzone again when Chase Arthur set up a scoring drive with a 43-yard pass to Jack Tremblay that got the Griffins inside the Minooka 10-yard line, and Johnson would score two plays later from three yards out.

And the Griffins weren’t done yet. The defense bent a little, allowing a 37-yard completion to Hudak (10 receptions, 120 yards), but then got a turnover on downs which allowed the Griffins to put the ball in the hands of Petey Olaleye, who broke away on his third consecutive carry for a 55-yard score. In the span of eight minutes of game time, East had extended a seven point lead to 28.

“This is just a group that has worked really hard during the week. We’re not going to come out and put running clocks on people, but we’re going come to out here and earn it and fight for every inch and on every play,” Lincoln-Way East coach Rob Zvonar said. “I’m proud of the group, and every week we’re getting better and improving, and that’s all you can ask for.”

Lincoln-Way East will play Loyola, a team they have a bit of a recent playoff history against. East bested Loyola for the 2017 Class 8A title, before Loyola became the last team to successfully oust the Griffins from postseason play with a win over them in the semifinals in 2018.

“As they say, as the game goes on, the price of poker goes up,” Zvonar said. “We know what we’re getting into, and we’ve been there before.”