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Sports
Warriors explode in second half : Sports : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisWarriors explode in second half
| Oswego defense gives up 21 points in fourth quarter, turns focus to SPC opener
| by Laura M. Medina
| 9/6/2012
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Oswego first-year head football coach Brian Cooney didn't expect every week on the schedule to produce the overwhelming positive results of its season-opener, but he likely didn't anticipate an outcome like last week's against Waubonsie Valley.
Just one week after posting a double-digit non-conference victory, the Panthers were unable to prevent a lopsided loss, as they struggled to stop the Warriors' second-half surge in a 54-28 result last Friday night at Ken Pickerill Stadium.
A visit to Geneva on Aug. 24 resulted in a 47-21 win for Oswego (1-1), but just a few minutes into its matchup with Waubonsie Valley (2-0), it was evident that things were going to be different for the Panthers in Week Two.
"What a difference seven days and a different opponent makes," Cooney said. "Waubonsie's very, very talented ... that still doesn't give us an excuse to give up that much yardage (533 yards) and that many points, but we obviously need to take a look at some things."
Oswego kept pace with Waubonsie Valley throughout the first half, as the visiting side held just a 19-14 lead heading into the intermission.
Running back Austin Guido's 3-yard run five minutes into the game, running back Demario Webb's 20-yard dash and quarterback Dylan Warden's 44-yard toss to Guido in the second quarter accounted for the Warriors' offense in that span.
Meanwhile, senior quarterback Brett Wainwright's 13-yard toss to senior wide receiver Jack Kwiatkowski (two catches, 50 yards), and senior running back Mickeel Stewart's 65-yard race to the end zone - with both plays coming in the second quarter - put the Panthers on the board early on.
These teams exchanged scores in the third quarter, as Guido's 6-yard touchdown scamper with 6:29 remaining was matched by senior running back and captain Bryce Holm's one-yard sneak nearly three minutes later to make it a 26-21 Warriors lead.
But it didn't take long for Waubonsie Valley to start pulling away. Just 37 seconds after Holm's trip to the end zone, Warden found wide receiver Christian Gibbs open for the 52-yard catch and score. Victor Carbajal then added the extra point for the 33-21 advantage.
"They've got talent across the board," Cooney said. "Give credit to their (Waubonsie Valley) offense and their offensive game plan. They exploited our weaknesses."
Just 1:49 into the fourth quarter, the Warriors were again heading to the endzone on Guido's 41-yard touchdown run. Carbajal's kick, his seventh attempt and sixth conversion of the night, extended the lead to 40-21.
"We made some adjustments that we felt were right, but I don't think we were communicating from level to level," Cooney said. "Obviously, the adjustments we made defensively didn't work, but our offense hung in and kept us in the game."
However, the Panthers weren't quite out of the game yet. After another solid kickoff return by senior Elliot McGaughy, who also had five catches for 60 yards, Stewart - easily the hosts' best offensive player last week - used an 11-yard carry to put his team in scoring territory.
"Mickeel did an excellent job," Cooney said of Stewart, who carried 21 times for 183 yards and a touchdown. "We've got a number of two-way starters that hung in there on a very humid night."
On the next snap, Wainwright (5-for-12, 85 yards, two touchdowns) connected with Kwiatkowski on a 37-yard scoring play. Junior kicker Jason Kaney added the point-after to make it just a 40-28 setback with 9:46 left in the game.
Neither team scored in the exchange of possessions that followed, but when the Warriors regained the ball at their own 12-yard line, it only took Guido (20 rushes, 216 yards, three touchdowns) a few steps before he broke through the Panthers' defense and ran the remaining length of the field for the score.
Carbajal pushed the lead to 47-28 with his extra-point kick with 5:05 remaining in the game.
Waubonsie Valley stopped Oswego on its next series and soon added another touchdown - a 14-yard scramble by Webb - in the final three minutes of the game. Carbajal's point-after opened a 54-28 advantage, and that ledger eventually secured the team's fourth straight win over the Panthers, including a 34-14 result on Sept. 2, 2011.
In spite of the defeat, Cooney remained optimistic with his team, which has plenty of season left to overcome its first bit of adversity.
"Win lose or draw, this group is very tight-knit, and that's what we'll continue to do," Cooney said. "I'll make the necessary adjustments as they need to be made, but one thing I know for sure is we'll stay together as a group."
Cooney and the Panthers will have to continue their attitude of cohesion on Friday in a tough road match against Minooka in the Southwest Prairie Conference opener.
Last year, Oswego defeated the rival Indians 21-7 at Ken Pickerill Stadium on Oct. 21 to capture the SPC title outright in both squads' regular-season finale.
"It's not necessarily just the next game or any other game, because it is Minooka," Cooney said.
"Who knows how the conference shakes out? Next week's game could be for the conference title. We're going to prepare everything from here on out as if it is. It's a very talented group.
"We knew (our schedule) wouldn't get any easier, and (Friday) is no exception."
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