Landin Benson’s five TDs lead Coal City to opening-round win over Johnsburg

COAL CITY — Things started well for Johnsburg on Friday in the opening round of the Class 4A playoffs.

The 10th-seeded Skyhawks received the opening kickoff and proceeded to drive 70 yards on six plays, ending with a 6-yard touchdown pass from Carter Block to Kaeden Frost. Drew Jesuit’s extra point kick gave Johnsburg a seven-point lead with 8:45 left in the first quarter.

After that, however, it was all Coal City as the Coalers pulled away for a 41-13 victory.

The Coalers (8-2) did not appear to enjoy another team coming onto their brand new field, complete with artificial turf and new lighting, and driving to score.

After the teams traded punts, Coal City took over at the Johnsburg 43. Facing a second-and-12, quarterback Zander Meents, (12-of-18 passing, 216 yards, TD) hit Landin Benson for a 32-yard gain to the Johnsburg 3. After a 1-yard gain, Benson (26 carries, 164 yards) scored the first of his five touchdowns on a 2-yard plunge, and his kick tied the game with a minute left in the first.

“I think our guys took that opening drive kind of personally,” Coal City coach Francis Loughran said. “The guys got a taste of what Johnsburg was trying to do. We made some adjustments and settled down. Sometimes when you are playing a new team, it can be hard to know how they do things, but once we figured it out, our guys played very well.”

One of those guys was junior offensive and defensive lineman Cade Poyner. Poyner was impactful on both sides of the ball, but on this night, he shined on defense. He finished with four tackles, including two sacks and another tackle for a loss, a fumble recovery and blocked an extra point. He was also instrumental in the Coalers being able to seal the victory in the second half by opening up big holes for Benson, who gained 122 of his yards after halftime.

“We didn’t like them going down and scoring on the first drive,” Poyner said. “After that, we were pretty mad and didn’t want it to happen again.

“Personally, I think I hate to lose more than I like to win and I will do anything to not let us lose. Our motto on the offensive line is chop the tree. If you keep chopping at a tree, eventually it will fall down, and that’s what our offense is like. We keep pounding them and eventually the big plays come.”

After forcing a turnover on downs following one of Poyner’s sacks, Coal City took the lead for good, this time using Meents’ arm. He completed passes of 14 yards to Gavin Berger and 25 yards to Logan Natyshok before launching a 28-yard TD pass to Berger on third-and-14 with 7:08 to play until halftime. Natyshok caught six passes for 76 yards.

The Skyhawks (6-4) saw their defense hold Coal City after a punt and Benson missed a 37-yard field goal attempt. Unfortunately for Johnsburg, the snap on the first play was fumbled and Poyner fell on it at the Skyhawk 11. Benson scored on the first play to make it 20-7 at halftime.

Coal City had to punt on the first drive of the second half and Johnsburg showed a spark, driving 78 yards on 16 plays, converting twice on fourth down. Duke Mays scored on a 1-yard run, but Poyner blocked the kick and the score was 20-13.

After a big return by Rey Gonzalez gave Coal City the ball on the Johnsburg 49, Benson burst through a big hole in the middle of the line, cut to his left and outran the Skyhawk defense for a 49-yard touchdown and a 27-13 lead.

“We came out hot on our first drive, but we just couldn’t sustain it,” Johnsburg coach Sam Lesniak said. “Coal City is a tough team. They are very physical and they grind you down. They did not allow us much of a running game at all.

“In the playoffs, you have to protect the football, you have to sustain drives and you have to make the big plays when you have the opportunity. We had some opportunities that we didn’t capitalize on, and they were able to make a couple of really big plays in really big moments.”

Benson added a 2-yard TD and another from 31 yards out in the fourth quarter to help the Coalers, who play the winner of Saturday’s Chicago South Shore-Rockford Boylan game in the second round, close out the win.

“We have done well in the second half all year,” Benson said. “Our offensive line is amazing. They just keep pounding people and wearing them down. And, our defense does a great job of giving the offense the ball in good field position.

“We have a lot of playmakers in the pass game, too, and that makes a huge difference. If we hit a few passes, that opens up the run, and if we run it well, that opens up the passing game. It’s great when it all works together.”