Joliet West puts scare into Sandburg

Breaking It Down: Sandburg survived a barn-burner against Joliet West on Saturday afternoon. The Eagles stopped the host Tigers on a promising drive in the final 90 seconds to preserve a 35-28 victory to open SouthWest Suburban Conference Blue play.

Lemonte Booker opened the scoring for the Eagles on just the second play from scrimmage, breaking off a 65-yard touchdown run. The Tigers answered back with a big play of their own, as Matthew Koran picked off a pass by Sandburg quarterback Anthony Adams and returned it 25 yards. That set up the first of two 1-yard touchdown runs for quarterback Zack DiVarco. Those few series set the tone of the back-and-forth game, which would be tied twice during the first half, although the Eagles grabbed 28-21 lead at intermission.

Adams made up for the interception by throwing two touchdown passes later in the game — one to Nick Lehnerer for 11 yards and one to Lemonte Booker for 57 yards. Mike Rago also had a 1-yard touchdown run for the Eagles.

The Sandburg defense came up big when Mike Thornton recovered a Tigers fumble and returned it 56 yards after Brian Dace sacked Koran. The Eagles were also able to force a fumble in the end zone, preventing the Tigers from tying the game. Joliet West's SaVaughn Alexander was electric, finding the end zone twice — once from 70 yards and once from 10.

Patch's MVP: Joliet West's SaVaughn Alexander rushed for two touchdowns and 254 yards on 21 carries.

Sandburg Stat Pack: Lemonte Booker had a rushing and a receiving touchdown. He carried the ball six times for 125 yards, had one catch, a 57-yard TD, and made two kickoff returns for around 30 yards. QB Anthony Adams was 4-of-10 passing for 86 yards, including two touchdowns. Mike Rago had 59 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries.

Joliet West Stat Pack: In addition to Alexander, Ramarr Jordan had 13 carries for 64 yards. Zach DiVarco was 9-for-18 passing for 183 yards and two rushing touchdowns. Terrell Woods had four carries for 32 yards.

Quotable I: Sandburg head coach Dave Wierzal, on surviving a scare from Joliet West: "It was scary. (Joliet West) played very, very well. Obviously, (Alexander) is a special kid. They came out to play, and I was impressed. They showed that they've been getting better, and I'm impressed."

Quotable II: Sandburg's Mike Thornton, on his game-changing play: "I definitely thought it would be a game-changer. I thought after that, our spirits would be up for sure. At halftime, I was thinking about recovering a fumble or picking one off and running it back, and that's what I did."

Team Records: Sandburg is 3-0 overall and 1-0 in the SWSC Blue. Joliet West falls to 0-3 and 0-1 in the same conference.

What's Next: Sandburg hosts Lincoln-Way Central on Friday at 7 p.m. Joliet West hosts Bolingbrook on Saturday afternoon at 1 p.m.

Scores of Note: (FRIDAY) Andrew 24. Stagg 0; Tinley Park 56, Thornton Fractional North 52; Homewood-Flossmoor 42, Lincoln-Way Central 7; Lincoln-Way East 38, Lockport 7. For more scores, visit the IHSA ScoreZone.