Defending 8A champ Lockport stunned by previously winless Sandburg, 34-3

LOCKPORT - Toss out the records.

That old saying was never more true than this final score Friday night:

Sandburg 34, Lockport 3.

The Eagles waltzed into Lockport and dismantled the defending Class 8A state champions in a SouthWest Suburban Conference Blue Division matchup before a large homecoming crowd Friday night.

It was the first win of the year for Sandburg (1-4, 1-1) and the second straight loss for Lockport (3-2, 0-2). Before last week’s 35-20 setback to Homewood-Flossmoor, Lockport had lost once in its previous 19 games.

“I was worried all week,” Lockport coach George Czart said of playing the Eagles. “They’re a good team, we could see that on film. People were just going to look at their record and think this was going to be a pushover.

“We didn’t match their intensity, aggressiveness, toughness and will to win. There’s the result, up on the scoreboard. We have to live with ourselves.”

Things started poorly for the Porters. Sandburg drove down the field on its opening possession and scored on its seventh offensive play, a 9-yard touchdown run by senior Katrell Thompson with 9:24 left in the first quarter.

But then the teams settled in and, following a punt Lockport got the ball just past midfield midway through the first quarter. Aided by a couple of Eagles penalties on fourth downs, the Porters reached the Sandburg 9 before stalling and settling for a 28-yard field goal by Nate Blazewski with 1:20 left in the opening quarter to make the score 7-3.

But the next three Lockport possessions netted a total of minus-9 yards. The Porters had a total of 18 yards in the first half.

In the meantime, the Eagles added to the lead when Lance Somerfield kicked a 26-yard field goal with 4:58 left in the second quarter. Then, in a backbreaker, quarterback Anthony Shelton had a 24-yard touchdown pass to senior Drew Selle, who made a great catch in traffic. That came with 5.3 seconds left in the second quarter and gave Sandburg a 17-3 halftime lead.

Shelton finished with 177 yards, completing 17 of 21 passes with a touchdown pass and a touchdown run.

“It was everyone on the team,” Shelton said of his success. “It was all the team, all the defense. It was all about momentum, all game.

“We believed in the team, and the team believed in me.”

Things continued to go well for the Eagles, as Somerfield smacked a 35-yard field goal that hit the crossbar and went through. That came midway through the third quarter and made it 20-3.

Then Thompson broke out of a pair of tackles and scored on an 18-yard touchdown with 3:11 left in the third quarter. Shelton scrambled for a 5-yard touchdown with 8:28 to play in the game to round out the scoring.

For Thompson, who had 24 carries for 119 yards, it felt great for the Eagles to flip the switch. Lockport defeated Sandburg last year in Week 5 by the score of 42-0, leading 33-0 in the first quarter.

“Yes, we did remember that,” Thompson said. “We wanted to do to them what they did to us. This felt good. We always want to stack the momentum, and the defense made big plays. We got it done.”

The Porters did not get it done. They lost two fumbles and threw two interceptions in the second half to finish with 27 total yards in the game.

“We couldn’t run the ball, and we couldn’t pass it,” Czart said. “You obviously have to do those things in football.”

Perhaps the only good news for Lockport was the return of starting running back Giovani Zaragoza to the lineup after missing the past game and a half with an injury. Linebacker Rob Baranowski also played well on defense and had a sack.

“We didn’t roll over on defense,” Czart said. “[The Eagles] just continually executed. We’ve got to get better. Yes, we have injuries and some inexperienced players out there, but they have to realize that the work we do year-round is what will show through on a night like this.

“We are not getting it done now.”