Prep football: Minooka sharp in all facets vs. Plainfied Central

PLAINFIELD – Minooka was excellent in all facets of the game.

Going on the road to play Plainfield Central, Minooka found a way to score on special teams and on defense and cruised to a 45-7 Southwest Prairie Conference victory over the Wildcats on Friday.

“Special teams is huge. Coach always says it can win or lose a game,” quarterback Seth Lehr said. “We spend a lot of time working on it so when things come together like that, it works out good for us.”

Minooka established its dominance early with a 13-play scoring drive to take the lead.

Nicholas Daniel finished the drive with a 1-yard touchdown run right up the gut of the Wildcats’ defense.

In the second quarter, Minooka blocked a punt and recovered it in the end zone to go up by two scores.

The Indians took a 21-0 lead when Braden Vercler cruised down the right sideline uncovered and Lehr found him for a 59-yard score. Lehr was able to do what he wanted most of the contest, finishing 11 for 19 for 182 yards and three touchdowns, including two rushing touchdowns in the second half.

“When he dropped back and couldn’t find a receiver, he found a way to scramble and put us in a position to get a first down,” Indians coach John Belskis said. “He really has a high football IQ. That’s what you want for a quarterback.”

On Plainfield Central’s next drive, Nicholas Schultz picked off an errant throw by quarterback James Buck and took it 35 yards to the end zone to give the Indians what proved to be a 28-0 lead.

The only spark of the game for the Wildcats came on the following drive as Nick Barner replaced Buck at quarterback. He threw two beautiful passes of 41 and 33 yards. The latter went for a touchdown to Reese Lillie to get Plainfield Central on the board.
Minooka erased any momentum the touchdown drive gave Plainfield Central by driving down for a last-second 27-yard field goal by Mason Spivey to close out the half. Minooka put the game away on its first drive of the second half as Lehr punched in from two yards out.

Outside of the long drive late in the second quarter, Minooka’s defense didn’t allow Plainfield Central much. It held Barner to only six completions the rest of the way and shut down the Wildcats' rushing attack, allowing only 52 yards in the contest. Minooka also intercepted two passes and recovered a fumble.

“They played great tonight. Our defense was just clicking,” Lehr said. “When we get that momentum, we can get stops. We let up one hiccup, but we’re fixing that. After that, we were lights out.”

Minooka will look for its fifth win against Romeoville next week.

“We created some long fields for them with our punting game, blocked a punt for a touchdown,” Belskis said. “Our defense created some turnovers. We’re getting there. We’re a work in progress but it was a good performance for our kids. Hopefully, we gain a little confidence going into next week.”