Minooka Pounds Plainfield Central

Minooka’s prolific offense scored six first half touchdowns as the Indians rolled to a 52-20 victory over Plainfield Central on Friday night.

Indians junior quarterback Joseph Carnagio passed for two touchdowns and scampered 41 yards for a rushing touchdown.

Senior running back Kalvin Hill also contributed to the Minooka (1-2, 1-0 Southwest Prairie) offensive output, carrying six times for 166 yards and two touchdowns.

Hill said he and his Indians teammates “just had fun” tonight.

“We brought it to (Plainfield) tonight, and we won by a big score,” Hill said. “We showed that our offense can score points.”

The Wildcats were led by senior quarterback Tim Blake, who completed eight of 21 passes for 118 yards, one touchdown and one interception.

Junior running backs Jordan Ellingwood and Tyler Erdman also put forth solid efforts, combining for 127 yards and three touchdowns.

But the Plainfield defense was unable to generate enough stops to give its team a chance.

Plainfield (2-1, 0-1 Southwest Prairie) opened the game with a 74-yard touchdown drive that absorbed almost six minutes.

The Wildcats converted a key fourth down in Indians territory, when Blake rolled out to his left and found Erdman for an 11-yard completion.

Blake proceeded to find Ellingwood for a 22-yard touchdown reception to put Plainfield ahead 7-0.

Minooka did not take long to turn the tide.

Carnagio connected with an uncovered Luke Stovall for a 69-yard touchdown on the Indians’ first offensive play of the game.

After the Wildcats went three and out on their ensuing possession, Indian senior Lucas Carey returned a punt for a touchdown, giving his team its first lead, 14-7.

Plainfield head coach John Jackson said he felt these two plays caught his team off-guard.

“We prepared for a running team, and (Minooka) came out with a play-action pass after we had scored,” Jackson said. “They answered our touchdown with a quick big play, and that got us on our heels defensively.”

Minooka extended its lead to 21-7 at the end of the first quarter, as Carnagio hooked up with junior receiver Maxwell Brozovich, who got behind the Wildcats safeties en route to a 30-yard touchdown.

The Indians added three more touchdowns in the second quarter to open up a 42-14 halftime lead.

The second half was not without a bit of controversy.

Leading 49-14 midway through the third quarter, Minooka went for and converted a meaningless fourth and one that rubbed the proverbial salt into the Wildcats’ wounds.

Minooka head coach Bert Kooi said his team was not trying to run up the score, but was still very much concerned by the prospect of a Wildcat rally.

“We just wanted to keep the ball away from (Plainfield), because they have a pretty high-powered offense and had moved the ball against us,” Kooi said. “They probably moved the ball better against us than Providence and Morris did the first two games.”

The Indians will host Plainfield East next week, while the Wildcats will look to rebound when they visit Plainfield North.

“We’ll regroup; we’ll get it back together,” Jackson said. “Our kids are feeling kind of crappy now, but we’ll be alright.”