Joliet West earns a treat from coach Dan Tito after rout of Joliet Central

JOLIET – There will be chocolate chip cookies for Joliet West’s football team next week, made by none other than head coach Dan Tito.

That’s because the Tigers’ defense outscored Joliet Central’s offense Saturday afternoon in a 50-6 win over the Steelmen.

Senior defensive end Christian Sticklen started the scoring when he recovered a Joliet Central fumble and raced 23 yards for a touchdown on the Steelmen’s second play from scrimmage. Later, Dylan Pangrazio blocked a Central punt that rolled out of the end zone for a safety, giving the defense eight points on the day.

“I was a running back in Pop Warner and I scored touchdowns,” Sticklen said. “But I have been playing defense since I got to high school. This was my first high school touchdown. And we get cookies.

“It also felt good to get it against our in-town rival. I have some family that goes to Central, and there has been a lot of talk back and forth. It’s all in fun, but I get to talk now.”

The Tigers’ defense did most of the talking, especially in the first half. On the second Steelmen possession, John Wyzykowski got a sack, as did Micah McNair. Dereon Brown then returned the ensuing Central punt to the 12-yard line.

After an incomplete pass by West quarterback Carl Bew that was nearly intercepted by Christian Smith, West’s Jovon Johnson ran for eight yards before Bew scored on a keeper from four yards out and a 13-0 lead.

McNair then recovered a fumble at the Central 25, giving the Tigers (4-4, 3-1 Southwest Prairie East) another short field. Bew hit LaDainian Tucker for a 22-yard gain and Johnson finished the drive off with an 8-yard TD run for a 20-0 lead with 4:45 left in the first.

Central (0-8, 0-4) stopped West on downs on its next possession and took over at its own 18. After a lateral went out of bounds for a seven-yard loss and a run for no gain, McNair swatted down a pass and the Steelmen lined up to punt from their own 11. The punt was blocked by Pangrazio and rolled out the back of the end zone for a safety for a 22-0 lead.

“I told the defense that if they score more points than the opponent in any game, I will make them cookies,” Tito said. “And I make them myself. My secret is that I use a full teaspoon of kosher salt. The recipe calls for a half-teaspoon, but I use a full teaspoon.

“The defense was great all day. Stick is a great kid, and I was glad to see him score. He sets the bar for our defense and he just loves to play football.”

The Tigers took the kick after the safety and drove 44 yards in six plays, with Bew, who started for Central last season, sneaking in from a yard out. West’s Jarrett DelRose recovered a Central fumble at the 40, and the Tigers used a double-pass, with backup quarterback Evan Gould connecting with Parker Schwarting for a 39-yard gain, and senior Desmond Holton went in from a yard out to make it 36-0, which was the halftime score.

“It was pretty exciting to be back here,” Bew said. “I still talk to a lot of the guys over there and I am still friends with them. It was just great to be back in this environment.

“The defense did a great job today of always giving us good field position.”

The Tigers invoked the running clock early in the third quarter when Gould hit Ian Farrell with an 11-yard TD pass. Gould was 3 for 5 on the drive for 80 yards, including a 58-yard completion to Billy Bailey, Jr. West capped its scoring with 3:15 left in the third on a 31-yard TD run by Tucker.

Central continued to battle and finally found the end zone when sophomore quarterback Paul Slick hit Smith for an eight-yard score with 3:29 to play.

“Our kids never quit,” Central coach Tom Hart said. “When you have a lot of younger guys playing like we do, we talk about embracing the culture, and they have done that. When they get older, they will be able to have that mentality of being made of steel.

“We have great senior leadership. Those guys got up at halftime and said we have to get going, and we played better in the second half.”

The win for West sets up a battle with Plainfield South next week with a share of the conference title and a berth in the playoffs on the line. South is 4-0 in the conference and West is 3-1. West also needs to win the game to get to five wins and become playoff-eligible.

“We’ve been playing playoff-type of games the last three weeks,” Tito said. “We were 1-4 after we lost to Plainfield Central, but the guys have kept battling and now we are 4-4.

“We know Plainfield South is a physical team and they have a great running back in Brian Stanton. We need to continue this momentum we are on.”