IHSA Class 8A playoffs: Lincoln-Way East defense engulfs Minooka in second-round shutout

FRANKFORT – With visiting Minooka facing a third-and-long situation in the third quarter, Lincoln-Way East coach Rob Zvonar had a simple request of his defense: “Go get him.”

His Griffins were happy to oblige as three Lincoln-Way East defenders all reached Minooka quarterback Nathan Maul at the same time in a play that showed how dominant the Griffins defense had been all night.

Lincoln-Way East held Minooka to negative rushing yardage and well below 100 yards total offense in the contest, and its workman-like offense did its part as the Griffins pulled away for a 28-0 win.

“We are playing like there are 20 of us out there,” Lincoln-Way East defensive lineman David Wuske said. “We’re having fun. But what’s most important is we execute what we’ve been taught. And that execution just leads to us being able to do that.”

Lincoln-Way East (11-0) will play the winner of Saturday’s game between South Elgin and Warren at a date and time yet to be determined. It is Lincoln-Way East’s seventh consecutive quarterfinal appearance in the state playoffs.

Minooka ended its season with an 8-3 record.

Lincoln-Way East’s typical pattern of imposing its will seemed to be working, but it wasn’t showing up that much on the scoreboard. The Griffins were forced to settle for a pair of first-half field goals from RJ Mensching to send them into halftime with a 6-0 lead.

The offense didn’t necessarily have to break through for much. Lincoln-Way East’s defensive front was allowing next to nothing, particularly on the ground.

“[Minooka wants] to come out and establish the run ,and we worked hard at that during the week to be in our gaps and we got a feel for that,” Zvonar said. “And then, they went to their passing game. We were able to take care of that and it was kind of a complete game for our defense.”

Wuske, fellow defensive lineman Caden O’Rourke and linebacker Conner Durkin seemed to be in every gap and backing up Minooka on almost every play. Minooka had nine running plays that netted a loss and any attempt the Indians made to get the offense going was wiped out before it could get started.

Lincoln-Way East finally started to get some separation in the second half. After quickly forcing a Minooka three-and-out, quarterback Braden Tischer moved the Griffins down the field and capped a drive with a 25-yard touchdown pass to Cade Serauskis. It was rinse and repeat on the next sequence, a quick Minooka punt followed by a Lincoln-Way East ground-based drive that ended with a 2-yard touchdown run from Nuri Muhammad, who finished with 143 yards rushing on 16 carries.

“And again, it is the second round of 8A football. It’s not going to be easy,” Zvonar said. “You just got to stay persistent. Our offensive coaches and players are going to adapt and figure some things out and know how to attack it and talk a little bit at halftime. And they obviously had it figured out in the third quarter.”

Minooka coach Matt Harding knew his team likely was up against the wall facing Lincoln-Way East, but was proud of the effort his players threw at the Griffins.

“They’re solid upfront and they’re tough to handle and keyed what we did,” Harding said. “They run that zone so well, inside zone, mid zone, outside zone, and we knew we had to try to take that away and our kids battled. And they did everything they could. We’re trying to build a culture like they have here and we’re getting closer.”