Brooks, Bennett, Joliet West beat up Plainfield East offense

PLAINFIELD – Entering Friday night, the Joliet West Tigers knew they needed to win to keep their playoff chances alive.

Mission accomplished, and then some.

The Tigers defense was as immovable as it had been all season as they held the Bengals to -4 yards of offense at the midway point. After a slow start, Antoine Brooks and Jordan Bennett had the offense rolling in a 42-14 victory over Plainfield East to move to 4-4 overall and 3-1 in the Southwest Prairie Conference Eastern Division.

The Bengals only managed 140 yards the entire game, most of which came in the fourth after the subs came in. Prior to a 42-yard pass late in the third, the Tigers held the Bengals to minus 10 yards of offense.

The Bengals had just six first downs, three coming by penalty with the 42-yard pass as the third quarter wound down being the first offensive conversion. The West offense managed a big touchdown their first possession, but followed up with three, three-and-outs and a turnover before rattling off three consecutive touchdowns to take total control.

“It was a complete win” Tigers coach Dan Tito said. “The offense has been clicking the last couple of weeks now and the defense has been playing with a lot of swagger. They brought a lot of energy tonight. We were fast and physical off the ball, and I’m proud of our guys.

The Tigers wasted no time in getting started on offense. Facing a third and 9 on their opening drive, Antoine Brooks managed to find Jordan Bennett in tight coverage and Bennett left three nearby defenders in the dust for a 69-yard touchdown to make it 7-0 just over a minute in.

After both teams had a pair of three-and-outs followed by a Bengal fumble, Plainfield East quarterback Hugh Callaghan got the Bengals on the board. It wasn’t on offense, however, as the two-way standout picked Brooks off and ran the ball back 28 yards for a score to tie things up with 2:03 left in the opening quarter.

Both teams exchanged three-and-outs before Brooks hit Payton Turner for a 27-yard pass to help set up a two-yard touchdown run by Scott Nowacki three minutes into the second to make it 13-6.

After Maison Glover intercepted Callaghan later, Brooks heaved the ball from the Bengal 40-yard line into the end zone for a tightly covered Bennett who came up with his second touchdown of the night to make it 21-6 after the two-point conversion. Bennett finished with four catches for 163 yards and two touchdowns.

A shanked punt by the Bengals set the Tigers up at the Plainfield East 15, and a few plays later Brooks made his way in from five yards out to make it 28-7 at halftime.

“[The defense] is good every week,” Brooks said after going 10 of 16 for 237 yards and four touchdowns while running for a fifth. “I can’t speak more highly of them. They get the job done every week.”

After the Bengals started the second half with a three-and-out, the Tigers only needed four plays before Brooks hit Aidan Robinson for a 15-yard touchdown to make it 35-7 with 8:35 left in the third. Austin Kittl later recovered a Bengal fumble and the Tigers needed just one play for Brooks to hit Taivaughn Johnson for a 25-yard score to increase the lead to 42-7.

A 42-yard pass from Emilio Vasquez to Trevor Manuel at the end of the third was the Bengal’s biggest play of the night by a wide margin. The Bengals (2-6, 2-2) managed a 15-yard scoring strike from Vasquez to Manuel with 6:04 left to give the game its final score, but otherwise it was a frustrating night for the home team.

“We have a lot of work to do in the offseason,” coach Harvey Jackson said. “We’re really young. We have four sophomores starting, 13 juniors, and we’ve had the injury bug. We’ll just have to figure it out over the next week.”

The Tigers need to beat winless Plainfield Central next week to hit the five-win mark and virtually guarantee a playoff spot. They remain focused, driven and motivated to achieve that goal.

“We just have to keep working together,” Bennett said. “Just keep working together, and that’s it.”