Warren closes in on Lake crown
This was the kind of game a lineman should love and Warren dug in on both sides of the ball to clinch no worse than a tie for the North Suburban Lake title.
On offense, the line paved the way for a pair of 100-yard rushers. Sophomore Tom Lindal gained 152 yards on 18 carries, with junior Mike Liao adding 123 yards on 22 attempts.
The defense, meanwhile, pitched a shutout and held visiting Libertyville to 135 total yards in securing Friday's 10-0 victory in Gurnee. Warren (6-1, 5-0) can clinch the division title outright with a road win next week against second-place Stevenson.
"This is kind of a no-name team here," Warren coach Dave Mohapp said. "We have different guys who make plays on both sides."
Libertyville (3-4, 3-2) beat Stevenson last week and scored 102 points in its previous three games. But with backup quarterback Campbell Stemper replacing the injured Matt Persin, the closest the Wildcats would get to the end zone was Warren's 22-yard line. That drive, late in the second quarter, ended with an incomplete pass on fourth-and-4.
"We struggled all night offensively, never developed any kind of rhythm in our passing or running game," said Wildcats coach Randy Kuceyeski. "I attribute a lot of that to Warren's defense. We're disappointed, but we're still alive (for the playoffs)."
There were almost too many playmakers to list from the Blue Devils' defense. One standout effort came early in the third quarter after Libertyville completed a pass to Warren's 36-yard line. On the next snap, defensive end Tyreese Woodard burst through the line and hit running back James Zotto just as he took a handoff. The ball popped loose and Woodard fell on it.
"I was just blitzing the gap," Woodard said. "We came into this game confident. It's Senior Night. We wanted to come up big."
The Wildcats' next possession ended with an interception by Aaron Montgomery after linebacker Jon Duncan forced a bad throw by hitting Stemper as he released the ball. Despite getting a blocked punt from Eric Bialek, Libertyville never crossed midfield in the fourth quarter.
Warren scored its only touchdown with 9:22 left in the second quarter. After an Aaron Yonkelowitz sack, the Wildcats were forced to punt from their own 7-yard line. Quarterback Zach Shaw took advantage of the field position by completing 2 passes for 31 yards, setting up Lindal's 5-yard scoring run.
With 1:05 left in the third quarter, Blue Devils kicker Anthony Portanova, who had barely missed 2 earlier field goals, connected from 26 yards out to make it 10-0.
Most of Lindal's rushing yards came on quick handoffs up the middle. Senior center Ryan Church appreciated the efforts of Warren's underclass backfield.
"They definitely fill the shoes they needed to fill," Church said of Lindal and Liao. "I know they have more years to play, but they want to make this year as successful as possible."