Brendan Mecher’s two TD catches help Lockport pull out win at Waubonsie Valley

AURORA – Finding itself in a tie game at halftime, the Lockport football team knew it had to dig down deep to pull out a win.

“At halftime, we were in our own heads,” Lockport senior wide receiver Brendan Mecher said. “We just had to stay in control and play our game.”

The Porters did as Mecher caught two touchdown passes, including the go-ahead one on a bomb in the third quarter. That was huge as the Porters pulled out a 21-7 win, which wasn’t always pretty but it was efficient, in a Southwest Valley crossover on Friday night at Waubonsie Valley.

“We had big plays on defense,” Lockport coach George Czart said. “We didn’t play perfect but we played well and got a win.”

Locked in a 7-7 game at halftime, both teams knew a big play was crucial. The Porters punted on their first possession and Waubonsie Valley took over at its own 20. Behind third-string quarterback Dylan Beacom, who completed a pair of passes for 38 yards, the Warriors moved down to a first down at the Lockport 24.

But on second-and-11 from the 25, Beacom had his pass intercepted by junior free safety Colton Benaitis at the 13. A holding call put the Porters in a precarious first-and-16. But senior quarterback Conley Pfeiffer fired downfield to a wide-open Mecher, who caught the ball, turned on the jets and completed a 93-yard TD to give Lockport the lead for good.

“Man, that’s the best,” Mecher said of the long TD catch. “Nothing better than getting a wide-open ball and running to daylight. But the defense was a real big part of it and played pretty awesome.”

Waubonsie Valley moved to the Porter 41 but a sack by junior defensive end Dewatha Malone, who had two sacks for the second straight week, forced a punt a minute into the fourth quarter. The Warriors didn’t get a first down the rest of the game.

A one-yard TD plunge by Tyler Pospisil with 1:26 to play clinched the win for the Porters (3-1). The bruising senior running back finished with for 23 carries for 128 yards and the touchdown.

“At halftime, I felt a little disappointed that we didn’t do what we were capable of,” Pospisil said. “We were struggling to get going but the big passes to Brandan got us going. Then our physical play tired them out.”

The Porter’s big plays on defense started right away. Senior defensive end Kevin Hippner recovered a fumble at the Warrior 37 on the game’s second play. Seven plays later Pfeiffer found Mecher for a 15-yard touchdown in the left corner.

“I’ve got to give props to our coaches,” Pfeiffer said. “If everyone does their job, we’ve got a good offense. This is a big win and now we have some momentum going home.”

Pfeiffer finished 10-of-20 for 168 yards and his pair of touchdown passes were his first two of the season.

Senior Joshua Siekierski, the starting quarterback for Waubonsie Valley was hurt on the team’s fourth offensive play and didn’t return. With their second-string quarterback unavailable, the Warriors turned to Beacom, who led a tying touchdown drive by completing a 5-yard TD pass to Joshua Tinney with 2:48 left in the first half.

Beacom finished 13-of-20 for 110 yards for Waubonsise Valley (2-2).

“Dylan came in and as a third-string QB  you don’t get a lot of snaps,” Waubonsive Valley coach Adam Pucylowski said. “But he did a great job. But our kids played hard. Lockport plays football the right way and is a hard-nosed team.”