Junior running back Antonio Clay-Jones had no time to get nervous about his debut as a starter for Evergreen Park.
Replacing injured junior Jedidiah Adjayi, Clay-Jones flashed explosiveness and elusiveness Friday night that will make it hard to keep him off the field.
“The whole week, everybody kept telling me I had to lock in,” Clay-Jones said. “I had to be ready to play.”
Clay-Jones plays with flamboyance and grace. He likes to make tacklers miss.
He did that against Oak Lawn, rushing for 176 yards on 19 carries and scoring three touchdowns for the Mustangs in a 28-23 South Suburban Red victory over Oak Lawn.
The conference opener for both teams featured four lead changes and a tie, but Evergreen Park (3-0, 1-0) eventually delivered the uppercut to Oak Lawn (1-2, 0-1).
Clay-Jones scored on consecutive TD runs of 11 and 12 yards in the fourth quarter that gave the Mustangs a 28-17 lead.
Max Manso recovered a kickoff at the 12 in between the two rushing TDs.
“I trust my quarterback 100% to get me the ball,” Clay-Jones said. “My style is all about finding the hole, not letting the first guy take me down and just keep moving.”
A 43-yard TD run by Clay-Jones in the second quarter helped Evergreen Park take a 14-10 lead into halftime.
Oak Lawn, however, showed plenty of toughness and resilience by storming back from the early deficits.
Senior quarterback Ayham Salah ran for a 9-yard TD in the third quarter. He also connected with senior tight end John McGlynn for a 17-yard TD pass in the fourth.
“Last year, they beat us in the last game of the regular season and prevented us from going to the state playoffs,” Salah said. “This game is always a huge rivalry game.
“We never liked them. They never liked us. Whenever we play each other, it’s a dogfight.”
In his second year as a starter, Salah showed superb command of the Spartans’ offense. He used his feet to get outside the pocket and was effective on play-action passes.
He also carried the ball six times for 41 yards while completing 6 of 9 passes for 85 yards.
“I like to push my team,” he said. “It’s all about 11 players. If all 11 players are doing their job, then we are going to execute and succeed.
“They won, but we showed out (Friday night).”
Junior running back Thomas Vrabel was the other sparkplug on offense for Oak Lawn. His 58-yard TD burst in the second quarter ignited the Spartans.
Vrabel’s 21-yard run set up Salah’s TD run in the third quarter that gave Oak Lawn its final lead. He finished with 86 yards on eight carries.
“I’m more of a hitter, but if I get to the edge, I will try to get to the outside more,” Vrabel said. “We had a lot of anger last year after the way they beat us and we showed that out on the field. They came out and executed.”
Adjayi suffered a freak hand injury during practice Monday. He was Evergreen Park’s leading rusher in the first two games.
Clay-Jones, though, went for 15 yards on his first carry. Seven of his carries went for double-figure yardage.
“That gave me a lot of confidence,” he said.
Normally a slot receiver, Frankie Plunkett also stepped up by rushing for 69 yards on 12 carries. He scored on a 7-yard run to highlight the opening drive.
“It was kind of scary coming into this game since I don’t normally play running back,” Plunkett said. “Everybody on the team took that opening possession as the first blow.
“I knew I had to step up.”
Patrick Z. McGavin is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
