Lane Falls to Phillips 38-7

Lane Tech fell to Phillips 38-7 Friday night a Lane Stadium in a dominate performance by Phillips in all three phases: offense, defense and special teams.

Lane came into Friday evening game against the Phillips Wildcats with a 6-0 record, its best record in as long as anyone could remember. It was evident from last week’s game 24-6 victory over a talented Clark football team that the Lane Tech Champions have bought into Coach Dedrick Dewalt’s double wing offence. Not only bought in but they invested a lot of work into making it work.

Then Phillips came to Rockwell and Addison. A few seasons removed from their 2017 5A state championship and having lost their head coach Troy McAllister, the Wildcats nevertheless, have had 9-3 records, won their Land of Lincoln conference and advanced deep into the state playoffs every year since.

But three straight losses to open the seasons? What’s become of the program? The first two losses were to Batavia and Mt. Carmel. Then a loss to Morgan Park. Maybe the Wildcats have fallen back to the pack.

It quickly became evident that the Champions had tough task in front of them. The Wildcats took the and methodically marched the ball from their own 25-yard line to the Lane 12-yard line, overcoming several penalties along the way. Senior running back Dwayne Williams took a handoff up the middle into the end zone for the first score of the game. Taking a page out of the Lane playbook, the Wildcats’ opening drop took 10 minutes and 50 seconds off the clock. The two-point conversion attempt failed.

The Champions struck back quickly after the ensuing kickoff. On the first play of the second quarter, Lane’s senior wingback Casey Joyce took a counter handoff from Phineas “Finn” Merrill and bolted up the middle 49 yards for a quick answering touchdown. Senior kicker Mugdim Kreho added the extra point. Lane had a 7-6 lead.

That was about as good as it would get for the Champions. After Joyce’s touchdown run, Lane struggled in moving the ball.

“We watched their film. We know we had to get push up front. A team 6-0 scares you. Their six or seven plays that they run, they are very good at it. So way have to play assignment. We watched film, we matched up. ‘This is your guy, This is your guy.’ Discipline is everything,” said Phillips head coach Joseph Winslow.

The Wildcats were ready for Lane’s double wing offense. The thing about the double wing is that it is pretty much and all or nothing defense. If the offensive line can move the defensive line off the ball and pick up four yards a carry, it is difficult to stop. If they can’t well, the double wing offense is going to struggle and better hope their defense can hold. There isn’t much quick strike, comeback potential in the double wing.

Winslow and his Wildcats were ready for the double wing. “I ran the double wing in high school. We rarely passed the ball. We knew we had to play slobber-knocker football. We’ve got to get down a hit every play,” Winslow continued.

And that they did. The Wildcats’ defensive line took over the game. Lane’s offensive line did not get any push. Not only did the Wildcat get a push of their own, they “stayed home.” Each defensive player stayed in position ready to tackle the Lane backs on the misdirection plays.  

“Everybody just assumed that we were just a terrible team. We’re young. 85% of this team is coming back. I only have twelve seniors. My receivers are all seniors which is a plus with a junior quarterback. But other than that we are young. People took us for granted. They didn’t think that we are the same team that we have always been. The kids bought in after we lost the game to Morgan Park. We feel like that was a game we should have one. We had too many mistakes,” Winslow said.

Lane did not take Phillips for granted. The coaches and commentators knew quite well what Phillips could bring. We all got to see that Phillips is an excellent team and Lane is not invincible. 

Lane Smothers TF South 10-6

By Jack Lydon

 Lane Tech defeated Thornton Fractional South 10-6 on Friday evening at Lane Stadium. Lane head coach Dedrick Dewalt switched offensive styles this season moving to a wing T offense in order to take advantage of the strength of his roster—big lineman and quality running backs—which carried the day for the Champions.

A huge crowd at Lane Stadium including two student sections, one at each end of the field, saw the Champions march the ball toward the north endzone ball at the end of the first quarter for a 22-yard field goal by Mudgim Kreho, senior kicker and varsity soccer player from West Rogers Park.

The signature play of the game and the new offense had to be a second quarter run by Lane’s senior running back #9 Yiannis Katsogridakis. Katsogirdakis took a simple dive up the middle smashing his way forward for ten or so yards. He appeared to be stopped by five or six TF South Red Wolves but refused to go down. Literally dragging and carrying the group for an additional twelve yards before eventually collapsing under the weight of the defenders.

“Our kids came in thinking, ‘Hey it’s an easy game. We won by 20 last year.’ We tried to tell them, they pound the ball. They come off tackle. They’ve got good backs. If you don’t tackle them, they are going to go for five yards. If you put them in 3rd and short or 4th and short, they are going to win the game,” said TF South head coach Bob Padjen.

“You gotta stop the [wing T offense] by having linebackers that can read the guards. When the guard and tackle pull, they have to [go] with them. Our guys weren’t doing that in the first half. They were watching the backfield action. You can’t watch the backfield action. And our guys were.”

“That’s our Wing T Offense. Last season we had a bunch of receivers that we could throw the ball around to. This year, our strength is our running backs and our offensive line. So we switched up our offense a little bit to feature our strength. We are going to ride those big boys all season,” said Lane Tech’s third-year head coach Dedrick Dewalt.

A Wing T Offense takes a lot of trust, a team cannot make mistakes, one cannot have negative plays. The Campions didn’t.

“It’s something that we rep every day in practice. We preach no turnovers, no penalties that get us off schedule. With this offense, you have to stay on schedule. Three or four yards a carry. We won this game tonight because were able to control the ball and keep their offense off the field,” Dewalt continued. 

Leading 3-0 at the half, Lane picked up where they left off when play resumed. On the strength of repeated carries by Lane’s powerful senior running back Phineas “Finn” Merrill, the Campions marched down the field. Katsogridakis capped the drive with a two-yard touchdown making the score 10-0.

Even so, the Red Wolves were not done. After a penalty marred third quarter, Padjen rallied his crimson canines. Opening up the offense, the Red Wolves marched down toward the south endzone with repeated passes in the flat. South’s Seneca Smith scored with 9:52 left in the fourth on a four-yard run making the score 10-6. PAT failed.

Lane’s ball control scheme took time off the clock until finally giving that ball back to Red Wolves with plenty of time on the clock for a go-ahead score. South moved the ball up the field with the help of some penalties by Lane.

With 33 seconds to play, Lane’s senior linebacker Zach Shashoua picked off a pass in the flat that have been give the Champions fits throughout the fourth quarter to seal the victory.

The casual football fan might not appreciate the finer aspects of a wing T offense in action. Few passes, not much scoring but run faithfully by a coaching staff and executed by a disciplined offensive group with a stingy defense, it’s beauty to behold. This year’s newly created CPS Red-North better study up and hit weight room. Lane is going to put them to the test.

Interestingly, both Lane Tech and TF South officially adopted new team names early this year. Lane dropped “Indians” several years ago and just this year adopted “Champions.” TF South, formerly the “Rebels,” are going with “Red Wolves” starting this school year.

Lane takes on Hubbard next Saturday at noon at Lane Stadium before staring conference play the following week.

TF South looks to turn around their 0-2 season start against archrival TF North.