Ryan Ostry
Bugle Reporter
@RyanOstry_BR18
rostry@buglenewspapers.com
Another cold, wet night in the Chicagoland area had the makings of a defensive battle, and that’s just what happened in Joliet as Plainfield South took down Joliet West 21-6 in a Southwest Prairie Conference showdown.
South (3-0, 3-0) and West (0-3, 0-3) went back and forth in the first half exchanging punts while not letting the opposing offense budge at any time.
The 3-0 start on the season is the first time the Cougars have opened a season 3-0 since the 2010-11 season when they ripped off eight straight to start.
Alluding to his defensive dominance, South coach Bill Bicker did not shy away from giving credit where credit was due.
“Our defensive coordinator Rob Szduarski puts in work,” Bicker said. “He runs them through pursuit drills, angle drills, read drills. He’s relentless. The kids like playing for him and they play relentless and play with that passion.”
Even though the defensive effort kept coming, in the third drive of the game, South committed its first turnover by senior quarterback Cody Dieball, but West could not capitalize on the mistake.
Heading into the second quarter with game still scoreless and both offenses still stagnant, a West interception by senior quarterback Alfonso Sanchez (1-for-10, 10 yards) was enough for first year head coach Bill Lech to make a quarterback change, going to junior quarterback Josh Gautschy.
With 2 minutes,10 seconds remaining in the second half, a scary head on collision to senior receiver Ben Gould had the crowd silent, but he was able to eventually walk off under his own power.
“He’s alright, [Gould] is a tough kid, man,” Lech said. “I can’t believe there wasn’t a flag but it’s not my job to referee the game, it’s my job to protect my players.”
Almost simultaneously, South also made a change at the quarterback position with a couple minutes left in the half putting in senior quarterback Joey Passo.
That switch would remain heading into the second half still tied up at 0.Image may be NSFW.
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“The saying we have on our team is know your role, accept your role and excel in your role,” Bicker said. “Even though Joey is the backup quarterback, we don’t really look at him like that because we see him as our second quarterback.”
Dieball still was a workhorse in the game however, as he had the majority of the reps at running back culminating in the first score of the game on a 56-yard touchdown run with just under six minutes left in the quarter.
“I bounced it to the outside and broke the tackle of the outside linebacker,” Dieball said. “I started chugging down the hill and saw the end zone,”
Dieball scored again putting the Cougars up 14-0 at the end of the third quarter. On the night, he paced the Cougar ground attack with 29 carries for 206 yards.
“Cody is our best [running back],” Bicker said. “He’s one of the toughest kids I’ve ever had, he’s a captain.”
West sparked some life in the visitor stands after a 23-yard pass and catch from Gautschy (6-for-15, 103 yards) to senior receiver Kevon Dorris who hauled in 6 catches for 85 yards.
“[Dorris] is a special kid and a special talent,” Lech said. “We just have to find ways to get him the ball and we’re working on that.”
However, South would eliminate any last quarter push from the Tigers after capping off the game with a four-yard run by junior running back Jaylin Eison putting the game out of reach at 21-6.
The Cougars will be back in action against Plainfield Central with a start time of 7 p.m. Friday at Central, while the Tigers will look to get its first win of the season when they take on Oswego at 1 p.m. Saturday at Joliet West.