Record Newspapers football notebook: Oswego opens eyes with shutout of Neuqua Valley

Brian Cooney has been a part of the Oswego football program for almost three decades, so he’s coached in countless big games.

But the 12th-year head coach had the excitement of a kid playing his first varsity game for last Friday’s season opener at Neuqua Valley.

“I shared with the team, I’ve been at Oswego for 26 years, been in some important games, high-stakes games, I told them that [Friday] wasn’t the biggest game – but I’ve never been so eager to get out there and get to work,” Cooney said, “and the kids matched that mentality. From the first kickoff to the last minute they really put the pedal down and got to work.”

That lunchpail mentality translated to one of the weekend’s more eye-opening results.

Oswego, coming off a 3-6 season, went into Naperville and shut out defending DuPage Valley Conference champion Neuqua Valley 13-0.

It’s just one week, but the Panthers perhaps served notice that they are back to their winning ways.

“After the disappointing season we were ready to come back and get Oswego football back on the winning track,” Oswego junior linebacker Mikey Claycombe said. “Panther football is back, and we’re ready. The morale of the team has never been higher.”

Claycombe had six solo tackles, three assists and a tackle for loss as part of that defensive effort.

“I feel I did pretty good, proud of myself, but I couldn’t do it without my teammates,” Claycombe said. “The defensive line did its job completely. As a linebacker I wasn’t getting any blocks downfield, the defensive line was holding up. Free flowing to the ball made my job easier.”

Cooney noted the work of two other juniors, linemen Josh Flores and Christian Taylor, for clogging things up in the middle up front. The Panthers forced one turnover when Neuqua was inside the Oswego 30, and made another play on a field goal attempt. Other than that, Oswego played good assignment sound, hustling defense that Cooney takes pride in.

“It’s good to see that old style of Oswego football back,” Cooney said. “We were fortunate enough to control the line of scrimmage, our interior guys were able to control the line of scrimmage so we didn’t need to bring much pressure, the linebackers and D-line were able to control the running game for the most part, guys on the inside were able to swarm to the ball, rally to tackles.

“Hopeful it is a springboard to confidence and reaffirms the time that these kids have put in and the dedication they have shown. It’s a good group, coachable, they listen, and it translated on Friday.”

Yorkville’s defense shines

Yorkville’s offense managed to score three touchdowns and put up nearly 300 yards, with a near equal running and passing balance in a 30-6 win at Plainfield South.

But that’s not what Foxes’ coach Dan McGuire wanted to focus on.

“The story of the game would be our defense,” McGuire said. “We put them in some bad situations, short-yardage situations, gave Plainfield South better field position than we would have liked. With the exception of a little stretch in the third or fourth quarter our defense played well in the red zone. That was my biggest takeaway, was how well they played.”

The Yorkville defense allowed just eight rushing yards, and had three interceptions. Junior Jack Ferguson had two of them, returning one 75 yards for a touchdown. Not a bad start for a wrestling standout who’s only played safety for a little over a month.

“He was our sophomore quarterback for us last year, and our backup quarterback this year,” McGuire said. “We know he’s a good athlete and we’re trying to find a spot for him on the field. He’s really smart, a physical kid, good qualities to play safety. His understanding playing quarterback I think helps him.”

Two other juniors, Bryce Griffin and Lincoln Reuterskiold, had five and four solo tackles, respectively, to lead a Yorkville defense that graduated a ton of talent but doesn’t look to drop off much.

“Another cool thing about our defense was we made some adjustments,” McGuire said. “Anytime you play anybody Week 1 you never know what you might see, especially facing a team with a new coach. We graduated some great players – for them to play as well as they did was a big deal.”

Plano’s big play

Plano senior Waleed Johnson had a monster game on the ground in last Friday’s 33-20 win over Ottawa, going for 254 yards and three touchdowns.

But his biggest play came via the pass.

With the Reapers trailing 20-18 midway through the fourth quarter and facing a third-and-long, senior quarterback Armando Martinez dialed up his star player. The two connected on a spectacular 30-yard TD pass, and Plano never looked back.

“That was a pretty special play,” Plano coach Rick Ponx said. “You’re looking at third and 20 something. That was one that Armando called. I had a different call and he said to put Waleed over there. That comes from those guys practicing together. Armando knew where he would be, put it where only Waleed could get it and he made a tremendous catch – the throw was pretty darn good too. We let Armando call some plays and he came up money. That goes back to having smart players and a smart quarterback.”

And a player in Johnson who Ponx calls “special” running behind an offensive line that came up big in crunch time.

“At the end the O-line put the game away,” Ponx said. “The last couple minutes, to run down the field and get that next touchdown that put us up 13, in other years we would have had to punt and hang on for a six-point win. This time, to drive down the field and score, that’s a tribute to the offensive line.”

Sandwich’s wing-T in full flight

Sandwich’s wing-T offense was on its game in Saturday’s 34-14 win over Manteno, the varsity program’s first win since 2019.

Junior wingback Simeion Harris was the headliner with 178 yards and two touchdowns, but it was a group effort. Sophomore Nick Michalek carried 14 times for 119 yards, senior fullback Parker Anderson 12 times for 68 yards and two scores and junior fullback Diego Gomez rushed 16 times for 63 yards.

“And we have other kids who can run the ball,” Sandwich coach Kris Cassie said. “We have a stable of running backs we can use. It’s tough to get on the field because they’re so good. They’re competing for playing time. You can’t just focus on one guy.”

Cassie noted that the Indians do have things to clean up on – notably, three lost fumbles and an interception – but he was proud of the effort, particularly on the offensive and defensive lines.

Sandwich piled up 430 yards of offense, all on the ground, behind the work of linemen, left to right, Harley Perry, Tate Frieders, Hunter Krueger, Peter Popp and Jackson Heilemeier. Perry is the lone senior in that group, with Quinton Rome and Caleb Jones rotating at right end. Not to be overlooked was the blocking of receiver Calvin Lane, a transfer from Oswego.

“He did an excellent job of consistently driving the corner 10-12 yards down the field,” Cassie said. “Definitely something to work on going forward is getting him the ball. That young man is a football player and a playmaker too.”