Playoff fever was running rampant in West Chicago.
After a 24-year postseason drought, Wildcats fans were thrilled with the opportunity to cheer for their team into November.
Merchants all over town hung signs proclaiming their allegiance. More than two hours before kickoff in 37-degree weather, West Chicago fans were lined up at Lake Park’s stadium in Roselle.
Unfortunately for those fans, West Chicago ran into a dominant defense Friday night as No. 18 Lake Park cruised to a 28-0 Class 8A victory before a standing-room crowd.
Lake Park (9-1) advances to the second round against Bartlett (7-3) at 1 p.m. next Saturday.
“We don’t like to get too much recognition,” said defensive end Ricky Van Dyke, who had four sacks. “[Defensive coordinator Robert Nihells] tells us it might go to our heads. No limelight for the defense.”
It’s pretty hard to low-key a defense that held West Chicago (5-5) to 1 yard rushing and 60 yards of total offense.
“We came in looking to shut down their running game,” said linebacker Mark Petralia, who had two sacks, forced a fumble and deflected a pass. “I was able to get good reads on where the plays were going on those sacks and on the fumble.
“I’ve got to give credit to our sophomore and freshman teams who helped us prep for this game. We came out ready because this is our time to go.”
The Lancers dominated on both sides of the ball, piling up 322 yards total offense while limiting the Wildcats to 60 yards in 61 plays. Wildcats quarterback Jared Hall completed just 6-of-29 passes for 59 yards and was sacked six times.
West Chicago’s offense struggled all night, gaining just three first downs in the first half and only one in the third quarter.
Offensively for the Lancers, it was the Mike Menotti show as the 5-foot-8-inch, 180-pound running back broke loose for touchdown runs of 64 and 36 yards in the first half. Menotti finished with 140 yards on 17 carries.
On the Lancers’ third big play of the first half, quarterback Joey Albin connected with Ryan Cibulka on a 40-yard touchdown pass play for a 21-0 lead. Albin, who scored on a 1-yard run late in the third quarter, passed for 115 yards.
“Petralia and Van Dyke were all over the field,” Nihells said. “They are both great kids and good athletes. They wanted to make sure we had another game to play next week.”
And Bartlett is just the team the Lancers want to play.
“Bartlett beat us 21-14 two weeks ago,” Van Dyke said. “That’s the team that we want. Now, we’ve got another chance.”
