It’s hardly been an easy three weeks for Plano.
The Reapers sit winless at 0-3 after a 27-20 loss to Sandwich in the 115th edition of the now-paused “War on 34″ rivalry.
Plano put together 249 yards of offense in another hard-fought effort, but the Indians’ 303-yard, four-touchdown performance on the ground proved too much to overcome. Getting flagged 10 times for 100 yards certainly didn’t help.
But losing close is hardly new for the Reapers. They’ve been doing it since the young season began.
Plano came within a score of Ottawa in its season-opening 21-14 loss before falling at home to Manteno, 26-16. Friday was just another close-but-no-cigar result.
“It’s not like we’re getting blown out of games,” Plano coach Kyle Tutt said. “We’re right there, and just finding those mistakes and trying to correct them before they happen.”
The common denominator in those games? Poor run defense.
The Reapers get gashed by Ottawa’s Wes Weatherford in the opener, who ran for 181 yards and two touchdowns. A week later, Manteno’s Nick Honkisz did the damage with 127 yards and a score. Friday, Wyatt Gregory’s 165-yard night marked the third straight game in which Plano allowed a 100-yard rusher.
That’ll have to be a point of emphasis as Plano embarks on the rest of its Kishwaukee River Conference schedule. But even with their defensive struggles, the Reapers have shown flashes of promise.
QB Braylon Schmidt, filling in for an injured Ryder Knapp, completed 5 of 11 passes for 102 yards, two touchdowns and an interception.
Ethan Texas had three receptions for 89 yards, including a catch that set up the game-tying TD before halftime and another he took 64 yards for a catch-and-run score.
And despite being held to 48 rushing yards on 14 carries, two-way star Cooper Beaty was a workhorse on defense, finishing with 17 tackles.
“These kids fight. They’re great people. They do the little things right,” Tutt said. “The game hasn’t come on their side yet, and we’re going to keep working to get that win.”
Yorkville rides defensive front to strong start
As the popular cliché goes, “Defense wins championships.”
That isn’t always the case, however — especially in today’s game. But good defense can certainly help a team get there.
At least that’s what Yorkville will hope to achieve with its current unit.
The Foxes rank second in the Southwest Prairie West in points allowed (41) through three games, behind only Oswego East (38). Yorkville coach Dan McGuire said his defense has been held together by standout performances from the defensive linemen and linebackers making up the front seven.
“They all play off each other extremely well,” Yorkville coach Dan McGuire said. “They’re tackling well; they’re getting lined up correctly, doing things to make sacrifices to help the betterment of the team.”
Yorkville sits at 2-1 after a 20-7 defeat by Bolingbrook in its SPC West opener. Despite allowing a season-high points, McGuire liked what he saw from the defense.
“They really only gave up two touchdowns defensively, so I thought the defense played great,” McGuire said.
Dillon Viscogliosi, the Foxes’ leading tackler last year, continues to lead the defense from his spot at middle linebacker. McGuire said the senior brings a lot to the table both athletically and mentally.
“He can just go sideline to sideline,” McGuire said. “He’s extremely athletic and physical, but he’s a returning linebacker for us and has some experience in terms of just making sure that we’re in the right fronts, recognizing our opponent’s formations and just making sure that our team is aligned properly to whatever we would like to do against our opponent that week.”
Viscogliosi has 25 tackles through the first three games. The only Yorkville players with more or as many stops are the outside linebackers alongside him, Ben Wade (26) and Will Freeman (25).
“Ben is definitely a vocal leader,” McGuire said. “He’s the one that kind of keeps us all in line … he’s essentially a disciplined coach on the field.”
“Freeman, he’s just got a high motor … He doesn’t say much, but he’s extremely easy to coach, responsive but just flies around.”
In front of that trio, Bryce Baxa, James Sapp Jr. and Mark Smith III also have double-digit tackles. All three are returning starters after anchoring the Foxes’ D-line last fall.
Oswego East still can’t shake Minooka
After nine straight losses to the Indians, Oswego East hoped to keep its 2-0 start intact and finally vanquish one of its most formidable SPC West rivals when it faced a winless Minooka squad on Friday night.
Neither came to pass.
The Wolves fell behind the eight-ball early after Quinn Schiffbauer took off for a 41-yard touchdown on the Indians’ first possession. Oswego East never found an answer as Minooka pitched a 10-0 shutout to pick up its first win of the season.
Quarterback Carter Meindel finished 18-of-28 passing for 156 yards and an interception. Notably, RB Obadiah Carlson didn’t reach the end zone after scoring five touchdowns in his first two games.