Oswego East shuts out Glenbard East
Oswego East has never been to the postseason, but if the Wolves are going to get there this year it likely will be because of their defense.
Glenbard East experienced that first hand on Friday night as the Wolves posted a 33-0 nonconference victory against the visiting Rams in Oswego.
“They were simply dominant,” said Glenbard East coach John Walters, whose team struggled to gain 103 yards of total offense.
It was not as if the Rams (1-1) did not have chances because they had plenty, but when given prime field position, Glenbard East could not sustain any type of offensive rhythm.
A lot of credit for that belongs to the play of the Wolves defense. Defensive lineman Tyler Engleman, Bernie Laskowski and Kegan Griffin along with linebackers Josh Lopez, Zach Prinz and Hector Medoza really gave the Rams fits up front forcing 5 sacks, 1 interception and causing several other hurried plays, which resulted in tackles for loss.
“We came out and we popped them in the mouth,” Engleman said. “Our front seven really got after them.”
The foundation for Oswego East’s defensive success was laid in practice.
“We put in the work all week as a team and it really showed,” said Lopez, who had 1 interception. “Our energy level was really at a high level and our conditioning made a difference as we wore them down.”
Oswego East took a 10-0 lead at halftime thanks to a 17-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tyler Kennedy to receiver Noah Misna and kicker Jason Evans’ 26-yard field goal.
The margin remained at 10 heading into the final quarter when things started to cave in on the Rams.
Branden Lowe’s 45-yard punt return set up the Wolves at the Rams 7 and three plays later Kennedy scored on a 1-yard keeper to make it 17-0. Corey Kennedy then blocked Sam Wywrot’s punt out the end zone for a 19-0 lead. Tyler Kennedy and Misna connected again for an 11-yard scoring play to make it a 26-0 lead. Lowe capped the scoring with a 42-yard touchdown run.
It’s the second time in as many seasons that the Wolves have started 2-0 under coach Tyson LeBlanc.
“We were in the same spot last year going into conference,” LeBlanc said. “The difference is that I think we’ve grown up. We hoped that we’ve turned the corner.”
The Rams will begin their final season of DuPage Valley Conference action next week at West Aurora.
“No excuses for how we played tonight,” Walters said. “Our defense was out of this world for most of the night, but offensively we just couldn’t get anything going.”