Woodstock North’s Zinn turns in huge performance against Johnsburg

WOODSTOCK – Just a few weeks ago, Elijah Pena was lining up as a running back in Woodstock North’s wing-T offense. Now he’s going down as the most prolific single-game quarterback in school history.

Pena and senior split end Colin Zinn connected five times for an unprecedented 251 yards in Woodstock North’s 25-20 victory over Johnsburg Friday night.

Four of those five completions went for touchdowns as the Thunder (4-2, 2-1 Kishwaukee River) bounced back from a difficult loss to Harvard to grab a huge victory for postseason consideration in the most improbable way.

It was improbable not only because Pena still is relatively new to the position, but also because field conditions didn’t exactly seem to lend itself to an air attack from the run-heavy Thunder offense. Heavy and consistent rains from the last week left the field sloppy and muddy. Oddly enough, that was the exact reason the Thunder turned to the passing game.

“It was nice to get a change of pace in our offense,” Pena said. “We are a running team, we are a quick team. We have a fast group of guys, but when you get a muddy and cruddy field and it’s not working, you have to resort to something else. It was hard to keep our feet, so we tried out the pass game. It started working, so we went with it.”

It was fairly timely, too, considering the way Johnsburg (2-4, 1-2) came out.

A Skyhawks offense that has sputtered at times this year opened the game with an impressive six-play drive that featured runs of 21, 12 and 24 yards from Jacob McKinney. That set up a 5-yard scoring run by Justin Peake to make it 7-0 less than three minutes into the game.

However, after two running plays for little yardage, Pena dropped back and launched a ball down the right sideline to Zinn. He ran underneath and bolted 77 yards for the game-tying score.

That happened again on Woodstock North’s next drive, only this time it went for 84 yards as the Thunder held a 13-7 lead.

“For those first two grabs, I’ll be honest I was kind of scared,” Zinn said. “I was just nervous when I saw that ball in the air. Then, one thing led to another, I saw the ball and I grabbed it. I turned upfield and ran.

“It’s the new dynamic duo.”

The game actually featured two young and relatively inexperienced quarterbacks having to make some key plays in the slop. Skyhawks freshman quarterback Ian Boal bounced back from an earlier interception to complete throws of 18 and 25 yards to move inside the Thunder 30 right before halftime. That set up a 24-yard scoring run by McKinney to make it 14-13.

McKinney wound up rushing for 181 yards on 20 carries to produce a huge chunk of the Skyhawks offense.

Unfortunately, Johnsburg had issues taking care of the football, turning the ball over five times, including four in the second half. The first came on an interception late in the third quarter and set North up in great field position. On third down, Zinn caught a pass over the middle, turned to the sideline and outraced the defenders for a 55-yard score to give the Thunder a lead they wouldn’t relinquish at 19-14.

Johnsburg later had turnovers on consecutive plays, the second of which was Zinn’s second interception of the game. He later caught a 19-yard pass from Pena to make it 25-14 with 7:39 left to play.

The Skyhawks tried to make it interesting as Boal (10 of 24, 134 yards, 3 interceptions) and Anthony Turnage, Jr. connected on a 15-yard score with 1:46 remaining. They then recovered a fumble on Woodstock North’s next offensive play, but then immediately returned the favor to all but end the drama.

Now Johnsburg, which actually held the Thunder rushing game to 41 yards on 36 carries, is left needing to win out to qualify for the postseason.

“Our message to our kids will be the same message it has been the last two weeks,” said Skyhawks coach Sam Lesniak. “Our backs are against the wall. You have to bit, scratch, claw, do whatever you have to. We will see how they respond. Our senior leadership is going to need to take command down the stretch.”

STAR OF THE GAME

Colin Zinn

Woodstock North, SE/DB, sr.

Zinn caught five passes for 251 yards and four touchdowns while adding a pair of interceptions in Woodstock North’s win over Johnsburg.

QUICK STATS

Johnsburg 7 7 0 6 – 20

W. North 13 0 0 12 – 25

First quarter

J – Peake 5 run (Broderick kick), 9:26.

WN – Zinn 77 pass from E. Pena (Nolan kick), 7:44.

WN – Zinn 84 pass from E. Pena (kick failed), 5:12.

Second quarter

J – McKinney (24 run (Broderick kick), 33.8.

Fourth quarter

WN – Zinn 55 pass from E. Pena (run failed), 11:46.

WN – Zinn 19 pass from E. Pena (run failed), 7:39.

J – Turnage, Jr. 15 pass from Boal (run failed), 1:46.