Minooka holds off challenge from Joliet West

MINOOKA – Minooka and Joliet West entered Friday night’s Southwest Prairie Conference crossover searching for their first win after each dropped season openers to highly-regarded opponents. Minooka lost by 37 points to Bolingbrook, and Joliet West fell by 22 to defending Class 8A champion Lockport.

Friday’s game was like a heavyweight fight, with the teams trading haymakers for most of the night. In the end, however, Minooka was able to prevent Joliet West’s last-minute attempt at a knockout from connecting, and the Indians came away with a 26-22 victory.

It didn’t take long for Minooka to gain the upper hand.

The Indians defense forced a punt on the game’s opening possession, and Donovan Anderson returned the kick 65 yards for a touchdown. The extra-point kick was wide, and the Indians led, 6-0, with 10:25 left in the first quarter.

Joliet West answered on its next drive. The Tigers drove 87 yards on 12 plays, capped by a 4-yard TD pass from Carl Bew to Ian Farrell. Earlier in the drive, the two connected on a 26-yard gain. The kick was blocked, and the game was tied at 6.

Late in the first quarter, Minooka took over at its own 40 and went 60 yards on 10 plays, with quarterback Gavin Dooley sneaking in from a yard out. Dooley had two other carries on the drive that totaled 20 yards, and he connected with Carson Jacoby for a 15-yard gain as well. The kick was wide, and the Indians took a 12-6 lead with 10:35 until halftime.

Later in the second quarter, Joliet West got a 62-yard completion from Bew to Parker Schwarting to get first-and-goal from the Minooka 6. After a holding penalty, Bew hit a wide-open Schwarting in the back of the end zone, then ran in the two-point conversion to give Joliet West a 14-12 lead with 6:10 to go until halftime.

Minooka, however, had an answer of its own, as D.J. McIntosh took an inside handoff and sprinted untouched for an 82-yard touchdown. The conversion pass failed, and Minooka led, 18-14.

West proceeded to march down the field again, reaching the Minooka 3 before Indian linebacker Isaiah Dupree intercepted a pass in the end zone and returned it to the 18. The Indians ran out the clock and took the 18-14 advantage into halftime.

The Tigers got a 50-yard touchdown pass from Bew to Marion Starks with 8:28 to play in the third quarter, and Bew hit Schwarting with the two-point conversion to take a 22-18 lead. Minooka got an 8-yard TD run by Braeden Anderson, who also added the two-point conversion run, to give the Indians a 26-22 lead, which they took into the fourth quarter.

“I am very encouraged by how our guys played,” West coach Dan Tito said. “I am very lucky to have coached the juniors and seniors since they were freshmen, so I know what kind of heart they have. They showed it tonight. They never gave up, and they answered when Minooka scored.

“There’s a few things we as coaches have to fix, but we have faith in our guys. They have shown us a lot in the first two weeks.”

Anderson finished the game with 41 yards on eight carries, all in the second half. Joey Partridge had 63 rushing yards on 13 attempts, while Dooley carried 10 times for 52 yards.

Although there was no scoring in the fourth quarter, there was no lack of excitement.

Early in the quarter, Joliet West drove inside Minooka territory and Bew (18 of 31, 301 yards) hit Schwarting for a 14-yard gain on 4th-and-9 to reach the Indians’ 14. Dante Morrow (12 carries, 41 yards) then broke through the middle for a 10-yard gain to the Minooka 4. Morrow was stopped for a 3-yard loss before three straight incompletions gave Minooka the ball at its own 7.

The Indians began to chew up yardage and clock with their running game, as Dooley picked up three first downs with his legs. A 19-yard gain by Partridge put the ball at the Tigers’ 26. On second down, Dooley flipped a screen pass out to Anderson, who gained yardage but fumbled when he was hit. West’s Carl Bartolo recovered the fumble, and the Tigers had the ball at their own 10 with 1:39 left.

Bew hit Morrow for a 13-yard gain to open the drive and, after two incompletions, the pair hooked up for another 13-yard gain. A 10-yard pass to Starks and a 20-yard completion to Schwarting (six catches, 133 yards) got the ball to the Minooka 44. The Tigers faced 4th-and-9 from the 43 with 15.1 seconds left, and Bew scrambled for 12 yards and a first down with 5 seconds left. His pass to the end zone sailed a bit too far, and time ran out.

“Joliet West always plays us tough,” Minooka coach Matt Harding said. “They have a lot of new juice over there. You could see a different attitude. Coach Tito has done a nice job.

“We got the big punt return early, but then they kind of punched us in the mouth and scored right back. Braeden Anderson is one of the fastest guys on the team. We like to wear teams down a bit with Joey Partridge, then bring Braeden in as a change of pace. We do have to clean some things up, and we’ll get right to work on that.”