Glenbrook North senior linebacker Luke Kincaid had come down with zero interceptions in organized football entering a Class 7A first-round playoff game on Oct. 28.
Backyard football games?
“A lot of interceptions,” he said after North topped visiting Simeon 17-7 — the Spartans’ first postseason win since defeating Fenwick 17-0 in the first round of the 2007 playoffs.
“Playing pickup up games, with your buddies … a lot, of course,” he added.
Kincaid now has one interception, while in a uniform. It came at 4:23 of the fourth quarter against Simeon (5-5). Glenbrook North had just taken a 17-7 lead, on a 25-yard field goal from senior Tommy Gertner. Spartans senior defensive back Gio Kollias had tipped a Simeon pass before it landed in Kincaid’s hands.
“Big stops, big stops,” Glenbrook North coach Bob Pieper said of his squad’s defensive effort. “My favorite time of the year is now. It’s getting cold, it’s late in the season, and we get to practice in the dark.”
Spartans senior quarterback Kevin Burnside lit up the Wolverines’ secondary, completing 19 of 24 passes for 270 yards, including a 60-yard touchdown to Gertner in the first quarter. And he produced those superb numbers against a fickle wind. Gutsy stuff in gusty conditions.
Gertner finished with five receptions for 110 yards, and senior wideout TJ Weinzimmer caught six tosses for 72 yards. Spartans wideout Alexander Bubaris (two receptions, 50 yards) was another reliable target.
North led 7-0 at the half.
Spartans junior running back Jimmy Karfis rushed for a three-yard TD with 10 ticks left in the third quarter, capping an 80-yard drive.
Seventh-seeded Glenbrook North (9-1) visits No. 23 Willowbrook (7-3) in a second-round playoff game on Nov. 5 at 1:30 p.m.
Loyola 42, O’Fallon 0
— It took O’Fallon High School’s football team six hours to travel to Loyola Academy for a Class 8A first-round playoff game on Oct. 29.
The Panthers did not suffer from van lag at the start, racing to a 14-0 lead against the reigning state champions in Wilmette. The Ramblers’ defense found a stop sign at that point, and the program’s offense amassed 42 unanswered points, 21 in each half.
“It was flat,” LA coach John Holecek said of the first-half atmosphere following his club’s 42-14 victory. “The crowd was silent. We tried to warn our players … O’Fallon has good weapons. Our concentration level was down. Our energy level was down.
“We solidified things in the second half.”
The play of the first half for Loyola Academy was inside linebacker Anthony Romano’s interception return for a touchdown. It covered 40 yards. It broke a 14-14 tie.
“A heck of a play,” Holecek said. “I thought he was going to drop it, the way he was juggling it.”
Ramblers senior quarterback Tommy Herion (20-28-1, 283 yards) connected with senior wideout David Terrell for a 14-yard TD in the third quarter, Terrell twinkle-toeing near the sideline of an end zone as he came down with the ball. Senior running back Kyle Rock rushed for 73 yards on 20 carries with three touchdowns, including a one-yard burst with 2:06 left in the first quarter, to go along with three catches for 38 yards. Rock added a 5-yard TD run in the third quarter and one-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
A one-yard run from senior running back Tomas Henning cut O’Fallon’s lead to 14-13.
Terrell led the team in receiving (8 catches, 121 yards). Jake Marwede snagged four passes for 53 yards, while Jack Martinus had three catches for 47 yards.
O’Fallon’s Panthers finished with a 5-5 record.
Top-seeded LA (10-0) hosts No. 16 Oswego East (9-1) in a second-round playoff game on Nov. 5 at 1 p.m.
Lake Forest 40, Riverside-Brookfield 7
— Liam Pooler has hit his stride.
The same goes for Lake Forest.
To rush for 100 yards is good. To rush for 200 is unbelievable.
Go ahead, put Pooler in the unbelievable category.
The senior running back carried the ball 21 times for 198 yards in Lake Forset’s 40-7 victory over host Riverside-Brookfield in an opening round Class 6A state playoff game on Oct. 28. He had touchdown runs of 13 and 43 yards in the second quarter.
Pooler, who didn’t start the season as LF’s feature back, is averaging 6.87 yards per carry (95-653). He now has rushed for eight TDs.
With Pooler leading the way, the Scouts (7-3) finished the game with 505 total yards. Most of those yards came on the ground: 396. Evan Swint capped the scoring with an 85-yard TD run in the fourth quarter.
LF’s air attack also was effective. Senior quarterback Charlie Reinkemeyer threw a 13-yard touchdown pass to Reed Thomas in the opening quarter and 13-yard TD pass to Charlie Atounian in the third quarter. Reinkemeyer ended up 11 for 20 for 105 yards. Thomas had two catches for 30 yards. Altounian caught four passes for 25 yards.
The other leading receiver was Jack Mislinski (2 catches, 28 yards).
Reinkemeyer has thrown 12 TD passes and completed 101 of 200 passes for 1,479 yards.
LF’s defense, which pitched a shutout in the first half at Riverside-Brookfield, was led by Cal Wonham (4 tackles, 2 QB sacks, 1 other tackle-for-loss), Andrew Athenson (9 tackles), Bryan Ooms (8 tackles, 1 TFL), John Deering (7 tackles), Chris Cavalaris (6 tackles), Gabe Funk (3 tackles, 1 sack), Alex Svigos (3 tackles, 1 sack, 1 TFL), Jon Day (3 tackles), Spencer Yauch (3 tackles) and Alex Moss (3 tackles).
The Scouts will host St. Viator in the second round of the playoffs on Nov. 4 at 7 p.m.