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Sports
The perfect storm : Sports : Oswego Ledger-Sentinel : Hometown Newspaper for Oswego and Montgomery, IllinoisThe perfect storm
| Oswego offense surpasses 40-point mark for third time this season, defense impressive with second straight shutout
| by Kristin Sharp
| 9/20/2012
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Approaching the midway point of the football season, the Oswego football team's defense has certainly made a statement this season.
The Panthers posted their second straight shutout victory and earned a running clock for the third time this fall, defeating Romeoville 41-0 on Senior Night last Friday.
Oswego improves to 3-1 overall and 2-0 in Southwest Prairie Conference play heading into this Friday's crosstown game at Oswego East (3-1, 1-1 SPC).
"It's definitely a good feeling and a little bit more comfortable," Oswego head coach Brian Cooney said. "You get settled in your ways, get a couple stops and the offense got the running game going. Brett (Wainwright) and Steven (Frank) started hitting some of the receivers that were open. We got some blocks. The defense comes out, steps up again and forces them to punt. Over and over.
"The last two weeks, we look up and we're fortunate to have a running clock," Cooney added.
The undermanned Spartan squad dressed just 30 players for the Week 4 battle at Ken Pickerill Stadium and reached the red zone only once during the game in a strong defensive outing for Oswego.
Teams exchanged punts to start the game, but with 6:52 on the clock, Oswego began its first march into the end zone. Fueled by a 51-yard run by junior Bryce Holm to the Romeoville 14, the Panthers eventually scored on a 1-yard run by Holm. Junior kicker Jason Kaney's first PAT of the night was successful, and Oswego led 7-0 with 3:33 to play in the first quarter.
After holding Romeoville (0-4, 0-2) to three-and-out on the ensuing series, Oswego had good field position at the Spartan 47 to start. Wainwright looked to pass on the first play of the series and found Jack Kwiatkowski. The senior wide receiver made the catch and shook off a Romeoville defender on his way to a 47-yard touchdown. Kaney's kick extended Oswego's lead, 14-0, with 1:53 on the clock.
Romeoville stretched its next drive into the second quarter when the Oswego punt return team turned the ball over to the Spartans on an errant touch near midfield, but the drive stalled at the Oswego 41.
After a short punt to the Romeoville 35, Oswego senior Mickeel Stewart gained a few yards before Wainwright found Kwiatkowski for a 50-yard gain to the Romeoville 12.
Oswego was eventually faced with third-and-15 on the Spartan 18, but Wainwright kept the ball on the next play and ran into the end zone for a 21-0 Panther lead with 8:31 left to play in the first half.
"Make no doubt about it; we're a running team. I think a lot of teams know they have to stack some people in the box," Cooney said. "If we have a match up on the perimeter that we like, we're going to exploit that as well."
The Panther defense once again held the Spartans to three-and-out, and senior Elliot McGaughey made an impressive mid-air catch on the ensuing punt before returning the ball to the Romeoville 20. But an illegal block on Oswego pushed the Panthers back to midfield, and Oswego fumbled on its first play.
Romeoville tried to take advantage of the turnover and had some help with a pass interference call on the Panthers. Romeoville junior Miguel Ford (20 carries, 82 yards) ran for a 9-yard gain before finding a hole and racing 25 yards to the Oswego 4-yard line.
The Spartans, however, could not break the Panther defense. Oswego senior Justin Best sacked Romeoville senior quarterback Jacob Bambule was for a 3-yard loss, the Spartans were hit with a delay of game penalty and senior lineman Jordan Smith sacked Bambule for another 3-yard loss to push Romeoville back to the Oswego 15.
On third down, Oswego senior Jamaal Richardson sacked Bambule in the backfield, and Romeoville's 43-yard field goal attempt by junior Steve Derdzinski was short of the uprights.
"We do a lot of preparation throughout the week. Coach Cooney works us hard and we come out ready to go," Holm said. "It's been a team game for us lately. It's snowballing for us."
With 3:14 to play in the first half, Oswego was back in the end zone. Holm took the first handoff and raced more than 20 yards to midfield before finding a hole on the next play and racing 48 yards into the end zone for a 28-0 Oswego lead.
Oswego freshman Steven Frank replaced Wainwright at quarterback and found McGaughey for an apparent 60-yard touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, but a block in the back put the Panthers at the Spartan 15.
Frank connected with Richardson for 7 yards before two incomplete passes left Oswego facing fourth-and-3 on the 8. Richardson roped in Frank's pass and extended his ball over the pylon to get the touchdown signal with 57 seconds on the clock.
Kaney's kick was good, and Oswego went into halftime with a 35-0 advantage.
Romeoville recovered its onside kick to start the second half, but it wasn't long before the Oswego offense was back on the field. The Panthers used just four plays to cover 86 yards thanks to a 67-yard run by Wainwright. Stewart gained 12 yards on the next play before he scored from the 12-yard line with 9:10 on the third-quarter clock for a 41-0 lead.
Wainwright finished with two pass completions and three carries, totaling an impressive 172 yards on the night. Holm had 101 yards rushing on seven carries, and also contributed defensively with six tackles, one pass hurry and one tackle for a loss.
Best finished with six tackles including one for a 4-yard loss and had one blocked punt. Junior linebacker Giff Lawrence had seven tackles including one for a 6-yard loss and junior defensive back Charlie Jakubowski had six tackles in the shutout win.
With a running clock, neither team would reach the end zone before the final horn, sealing Oswego's shutout win and keeping the Panthers undefeated in SPC play.
"We're planning to win, but you can't just plan. It takes work," Cooney said. "That's what we stress to our kids. The wins happen Saturday through Thursday. By Friday, the kids go out there and do their thing. The kids have stuck with the game plan. Romeoville has a ton of speed and they can burn you. You stick to your assignments and do what you're supposed to, and our offense and defense has really played assignment-sound football."
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