Downers North throws Proviso East for loss
Cold, windy and muddy - just the way Downers Grove North likes it.
When they weren't pounding away at the Proviso East defense Friday night in Downers Grove, the Trojans were harassing the Pirates offense and taking a 16-0 victory in the Class 7A playoffs' second round.
"Besides the (3) turnovers I was happy," Trojans coach John Wander said of his offense. "We knew our best defense is our offense, and that's how we play football here at Downers North. I think we set back the game of football about 50 years going into the T formation."
The Trojans defense was just plain cruel. The Trojans (7-4) sacked Proviso East quarterback William Crowder III 7 times, forced 2 fumbles, intercepted a pass and held the Pirates (8-3) to minus-3 total yards of offense for the game.
"Oh, wow," Wander said about his defense. "Coach Bill Kleckner, our defensive coordinator, we have a standing joke. You shut them out, we win. He did it tonight, even with our offense turning the ball over three times.
"They got one big play, I think. (Corey Cooper) caught one down the sideline there, and he shouldn't have. We had two men on him, but that's Cooper. That's why he's going to Illinois."
"There was some miscommunication on plays where we did have time," Pirates coach Aaron Peppers added. "We just didn't make right decisions."
Despite losing 3 first-half fumbles, the Trojans led 7-0 at halftime, taking advantage of Proviso East's problems on special teams. Jermal Jones' 10-yard touchdown run was set up when the snap sailed over the head of Proviso East punter Marc Jones for a 30-yard loss.
It was exactly what Peppers didn't want to see. He had given his team three pieces of advice.
"Don't let the weather defeat us, don't let mental busts defeat us and don't let our special teams defeat us, and we didn't do that," Peppers said. "Our long snapper wasn't good. I know three off the top of my head he had bad snaps. They just capitalized on it. That's what good teams do."
Downers North took advantage of another bad punt snap, this time tackling Marc Jones in the end zone for a fourth-quarter safety.
After a short kickoff the Trojans marched back down the field. Daniel Sheppard's 5-yard touchdown run capped a 9-play, 5:10 drive to make the score 16-0 with 2:25 to play.
Patrick Daly's interception after a Sheppard sack of Crowder put the game away.
"Shep's a darned warrior," Wander said of the senior going to Iowa on a baseball scholarship. "He's not going to get the accolades that kid deserves. He'd better, taking us literally to the quarterfinals. He deserves everything I can try to get that young man. You don't see many middle linebacker/quarterbacks in the state of Illinois, and if there's an award for that, I've got the player for that."
Sheppard carried 19 times for 53 yards and threw only 1 pass all night (it was incomplete).
"That's basically our game plan for this game," Sheppard said.