Joliet West readies for first home playoff game in program history

JOLIET – As Joliet West continued to pile up wins during its most successful regular season in more than 50 years, the possibility of a home playoff game became a talking point among the players.

The buzz grew more and more as the team kept winning, and now it actually is happening: Joliet West (8-1) will host a playoff game for the first time in program history when it welcomes St. Ignatius (6-3) to town for a Class 8A first-round game at 7 p.m. Friday.

“The atmosphere is going to be crazy.”

—  Juan Rico, Joliet West quarterback

“The atmosphere is going to be crazy,” senior quarterback Juan Rico said. “We were talking about it during our little offensive talk before [a 35-12 win over Plainfield Central in Week 9], and we were talking about what could be done, what could be accomplished by winning that game and getting to play at home in the playoffs.

“I’m really excited for it.”

Joliet West coach Dan Tito is thrilled to see the school buzzing over his team, which last had this kind of success in 1968, going 9-0. That was six years before the IHSA’s state playoffs for football began.

“I’m excited for the opportunity to walk out with my team Friday night, and the whole team is excited to walk out and see the amount of support we have,” Tito said. “There’s been such a great energy all season. Our home games have been well attended. A lot of people are coming out and cheering us on. We’ve had a very supportive community, a very supportive school, and we’re very thankful for that.

“A lot of people have been talking about how they’re excited to see Joliet West football have success, and we want to continue that.”

It will not be easy for the Tigers to keep the dream season going into the second round. St. Ignatius has a history of playoff success, including making it all the way to the Class 6A semifinals last season.

The Wolfpack are the CCL/ESCC Green champions and are trying to win in Joliet for the second straight week after beating Joliet Catholic 23-10 in Week 9.

St. Ignatius is especially tough for opponents to prepare for because it runs a triple-option offense seldom seen these days.

“St. Ignatius runs the triple option, and they’re extremely good at it,” Tito said. “Their line does a fantastic job driving off the ball, and they’ve got some backs that run very hard. It’s definitely something different for us to see, and they do a good job executing it.

“Whenever you’re seeing that kind of offense, it all comes down to discipline and the players on defense knowing they have to do their assignment. You have to trust your teammates to do their assignment and not try to take it over.

“That’s kind of what their offense is designed to take advantage of. If a player isn’t doing things the right way, that’s where they gash you. We just have to play assignment football and be aggressive off the snap.”

Joliet West junior linebacker Micah McNair hopes his team is prepared for anything.

“Our work ethic is what got us here,” he said. “As a team, we’ve put in a lot of work in the weight room and in practice, and we see it all paying off.”

On the other side, Joliet West will hope to put up points behind Rico, who is a threat with his arm and his legs.

When Rico was injured in Week 4 against Plainfield North, he was worried his career with the Tigers may be over. Instead, he missed just two weeks and is thrilled to be leading his team into the playoffs.

“I definitely thought I wasn’t coming back, but once I went to the doctor and I found out everything was going to be good, it was the best feeling ever,” Rico said.

The Tigers will accomplish a first simply by taking their home field Friday night.

Of course, they hope to do way more than just that.

“We’re 8-1, and we’ve made history, but we shouldn’t be satisfied,” Tito said. “There are still things this program has never done before that we should strive to do.”