By Jack Lydon
It was a tail of two halves. In first half, the Lane Tech Champions (9-2) fought the Oswego Panthers to a 10-10 draw. But in the second half, Oswego (9-2) hit some passes and outscoring the Champions with five unanswered touchdowns for a 45-10 win in the IHSA 8A football playoffs.
The second home playoff game in a row for the Champions started off as good as they might have hoped. They took the opening kickoff right down the field. Their pass attack that had sputtered much of the season took the Oswego defense a little by surprise. The Panthers expecting to see the usually productive Lane ground attack game up big pass plays.
About three and a half minutes into the game, Lane’s junior quarterback Blake Jenkins connected with junior wide receiver Taylor Clay in the back of the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown. The extra point rocketed through the uprights to give the Champions an early 7-0 lead.
The Oswego Panthers from the Southwest Prairie-West Conference wasted no time in answering the Champions opening scoring drive. Returning the ensuing kickoff to Lane 43-yard line.
“We are going to run the ball first,” said Oswego head coach Brian Cooney. “Physical, hard-nosed, downhill team is who we are.”
Despite a couple incomplete passes and a penalty, the Panthers continued to run and junior running back Ethan Pilip scored for Oswego from four yards out. to draw even. The Panthers would add a 42-yard field goal by to make the score 10-7 Panthers at the end of the first quarter.
The second quarter settled into a defensive battle of bend but don’t break but with under a minute to play, Lane junior linebacker Aiden Boywid picked off a late pass back across the field. Boywid broke tackles returning the to the Oswego 22-yard line. Five plays later with 1:09 left in the half, Lane junior placekicker nailed a 20-yard field goal to tie that score.
“We did not wake up for sure until halftime,” Cooney continued. And wake up they did. The Panthers took the second half kickoff and scored. Then on the next possession, Oswego scored again on a 35-yard touchdown pass making the 24-10 with three minutes left in the third quarter.
“We have been able to do that this year, connect on some long ones. If they move the safeties back, we continue to pound the ball,” Cooney said. The Panthers added three more touchdowns for a final score of 45-10.
“I was looking to win. I was looking to prove a lot of haters wrong. I was looking to show that this CPS school can hang with these suburban schools. We don’t care where they are from and what kind of program they have; we are building a program here that can rock with anybody,” said Lane junior linebacker Aiden Boywid said after the game.
“I am extremely happy with the way we played in the first half. I know that in City [championship] and in the coming years Lane Tech is going to be a force to be reckoned with in the entire state,” Boywid continued.
“They made plays,” said Lane Tech head coach Deshon Conley. “Those two deep shots that they got in the third quarter is what turned the game around. “I thought we could have made a run at this state tournament.”
Despite the stinging disappointed, Conley said, “[t]he future is bright. We are headed in the right direction. We are getting over humps that we haven’t been getting over in the past. We look to keep elevating.”
The Champions expect to face Morgan Park next week in the Prep Bowl tournament.
Oswego advances into the class 8A playoff quarterfinals against #5 ranked Maine South at Maine South.
