Plainfield South defense, Cody Hogan and the passing game get it done against Joliet West

PLAINFIELD – It was by no means pretty – unless you’re on the Plainfield South defense – but it counted, did the Cougars’ 20-7 victory over Joliet West on Friday night.

Oh, there was the passing magic of Plainfield South quarterback Cody Hogan, whose season-high 11 collaborations with Brook Williams and nine with Buddy Amos bordered on artificial intelligence, so perfect were the passes and the catches.

But in the end, this Week 6 game came down to the basics. In a game with 156 penalty yards, Plainfield South pushed Joliet West around nearly at will in a contest that could end up deciding the Southwest Prairie Conference East Division and the automatic playoff bid that comes with conference supremacy.

The outcome moved Plainfield South to 4-2, 2-0 and dropped Joliet West to 2-4, 1-1.

“We didn’t feel we had an advantage early, so we wanted to hammer it in,” Hogan said of the attitude as the game ground on.

“We returned a ton on defense, and they’re hitting on all wheels right now,” South coach Jake Brosman said. “We had a group that bought into our coaching, and when you have a group that buys in, good things happen.”

Hogan’s first pass to Williams was incomplete. After that, they hit on 11 of 12 passes. Hogan was 21-of-33 passing for 171 yards.

“It builds up over time,” Hogan said of the connection.

“Week after week, it’s getting better,” Williams said. “I can’t wait to see what it is in Week 9 and beyond.”

The Cougars controlled the ball from the start, especially in the first half, when 26 plays accounted for 159 yards compared with Joliet West’s 20 plays for 55 yards.

Plainfield South took the lead on Leo Gamino’s 42-yard field goal, extended it to 10-0 on Hogan’s 8-yard pass to Williams late in the first quarter and made to 17-0 on Hogan’s 8-yard pass to Amos in the right corner of the end zone with 17 seconds left in the half after Orlando Cruz’s rousing 38-yard punt return to the Tigers’ 8.

That bulge withstood the single sterling play by the Tigers in the early autumn chill – a 73-yard keeper by quarterback Antoine Brooks in which he broke one tackle and juked two other Cougars defenders en route to the end zone. Without that play, Joliet West would have been blanked for the first time this season and held to 98 yards overall.

Instead, the Tigers were outgained 287-171.

Still, West coach Daniel Tito sees hope for the future. And he knows what’s next.

“I don’t fault our guys,” Tito said. “Plainfield South, they have great defense, and their offense moved the ball,” Tito said. “We’re in the playoffs now. Every game’s a playoff game. We want to be in the playoffs; we want to make that noise, and the playoffs start this week for us.”

The Tigers have Romeoville, Plainfield East and Plainfield Central in their last three games. Plainfield South lines up Plainfield East, Plainfield Central and Joliet Central to close the regular season.