Jonas Williams, Lincoln-Way East overwhelm Stevenson

FRANKFORT – Considering the multitude of things that Stevenson was going to need to do defensively to stay in Friday night’s Class 8A quarterfinal contest with Lincoln-Way East, it is understandable that what ultimately did them in was something they likely did not anticipate.

Lincoln-Way East’s rocket-arm quarterback Jonas Williams didn’t get an extensive workout with his arm in the Griffins 45-0 victory. Instead he decided to show off his wheels, running for three touchdowns including a ridiculous 84-yard run that clearly indicated Williams has an extensive number of tricks in his game bag.

Lincoln-Way East will face the winner of Saturday’s quarterfinal matchup between Loyola (9-2) and Maine South (8-3) in next weekend’s semifinal round. This is Lincoln-Way East’s third consecutive semifinal appearance and sixth in its past seven postseasons.

Lincoln-Way East has lost to Loyola in each of the past two Class 8A state championship games, but the Griffins defeated Maine South 49-22 in Week 1.

Williams, an Oregon commit, opened the scoring in the contest as he saw an open field and raced 11 yards to get Lincoln-Way East (12-0) on the board. Williams doesn’t seek running opportunities, but he’s more than happy to take them as they develop.

And a few whoppers developed for Williams shortly after his first score. Late in the first quarter, he beat the Stevenson defense to the sideline and simply outran it for a 60-yard score. Then, after Brody Gish had stretched the Lincoln-Way advantage to 21-0, Williams broke off the real doozy of the night when a pass play broke down, Williams was flushed out of the pocket, saw his options were limited and took off. He reversed field, shook off several tacklers and zipped in for an 84-yard score, his third of the night.

“We knew they were going to run a little bit of man,” Williams said. “And when the play broke down, no one was accounting for me, so I just did what I had to do.

“And honestly, if you watch the film, my receivers were making great blocks for me. If they were not blocking for me, I would not have scored those.”

Lincoln-Way East coach Rob Zvonar quickly declared that the Griffins do not have designed runs for Williams as they prefer him to have the least amount of contact possible. However, the plays that emerged in this game simply involved Williams being Williams.

“No, we don’t want him to run the ball,” Zvonar said. “The only good thing that happens when he starts running is when I see him slide right away. He’s too valuable with his arm, so those things are on his own. But, obviously, he’s very capable.

“We don’t have any designed runs for him because we just want to keep him healthy and not take chances. But, obviously, he can extend plays and he’s been doing that all year.”

Lincoln-Way East tacked on a field goal just before halftime to go into the break with a 31-0 lead, and Williams ended what easily was the longest drought of his Lincoln-Way East career by throwing a touchdown pass to Talan White midway through the third quarter.

And likely for the first time in his high school career, Williams finished with more rushing yards (149) than passing yards (148).

“Honestly the running touchdowns are a little more fun,” Williams said. “You start hearing the crowd when you break free. But they’re both fun. Touchdowns are fun.”

Zion Gist (15 carries, 102 yards) put the running clock in motion early in the fourth quarter.

Stevenson, who finished 10-2, struggled to get out of neutral offensively. Its first three possessions were all three-and-outs, and the Patriots didn’t achieve a first down until midway through the second quarter.

Stevenson’s only offensive drive that seriously threatened to put points on the board came when Aiden Crawley hit Thomas Simmons for consecutive big passes of 35 and 41 yards to get to the Lincoln-Way East 4-yard line. But the Patriots went backward from there and ended up turning the ball over on downs.

Lincoln-Way East’s defensive front limited Stevenson’s rushing attack to 12 yards, and that factored heavily in the Patriots’ inability to sustain drives of much consequence throughout the game.

In the end, all Stevenson coach Brent Becker could do was tip his cap.

“These guys are really good,” Becker said. “They are the No. 1 team in the state for a reason. They are really talented. They work really hard, and the coaching staff is outstanding, and they’ve got a lot of playoff experience. And I wish them the best. I hope they go win it all.”