Yorkville’s Ben Alvarez being in the right place at the right time is not a big shocker.
The talented 6-foot-2, 220-pound junior seldom leaves the field for the Foxes, starting at outside linebacker and fullback. And he stepped into the spotlight Friday on special teams.
Alvarez gave Yorkville a spark in the defensive struggle, recovering a fumble in the end zone after an off-target snap over the head of Oswego East punter Owen Valek.
“I didn’t know what happened,” Alvarez said of the second-quarter sequence. “I just played football, saw the ball on the ground, hopped on it and got a touchdown for the team.”
It was the only TD of the first half for Yorkville, which then came alive in the second half behind the running of Josh Gettemy for a 28-14 Southwest Prairie West victory.
The Foxes (6-1, 2-1) had been held without a score on offense in their previous two games but helped clinch a fourth straight playoff spot under the guidance of coach Dan McGuire.
Oswego East (4-2, 1-2), trying to make the playoffs a seventh straight time under coach Tyson LeBlanc, now has a challenging road in the next two weeks.
The Wolves need at least one win to become playoff eligible and have to play archrival Oswego (3-4, 1-2) and undefeated conference leader Plainfield North (7-0, 3-0).
Sophomore defensive back Luke Zook, whose pick-six was the only TD for Yorkville in last week’s 10-0 win at West Aurora, also had a hand in the score by Alvarez.
Valek retrieved the errant snap and ran to his left trying to get the punt off, but Zook wrapped him up as the ball dropped, allowing it to roll free for Alvarez.
“We felt like we could win the game on special teams alone,” McGuire said. “We didn’t play very well offensively the last couple weeks.
“Getting things done and maintaining good field position, which I thought we did in the first half, allows us to be a little more two-dimensional in what we call offensively.”
Mostly, those calls went to the No. 3 of Gettemy, who finished with 31 carries for 254 yards. He produced TDs runs of 24 and 15 yards in the second half.
“I’ll take that all day,” Gettemy said. “We could really feel like our conditioning was above theirs later in the game. We’ve worked hard this year.”
Gettemy has been a blessing for the Foxes, filling in for the third time this season for starter Gio Zeman, who was sidelined by the flare-up of an earlier foot injury.
“I gotta give it to the O-line,” Alvarez said. “They were getting the job done in the trenches and Josh was just running his butt off.”
The O-line for Yorkville features center Sam Tholen, guards Logan Brasfield and Andrew Zook and a rotation of tackles Jake Davies, Roary Mezger and Ryan Stribiak.
Andrew Zook and Davies, who also play key roles on the defensive line, have been getting more action on offense.
“Davies at tackle was a little bit of a difference,” LeBlanc said. “We got in a situation where our defense was on the field for a little while.”
Alvarez played a key role in that running game as Gettemy’s lead blocker.
“We throw a lot at Ben,” McGuire said. “The fullback position is the toughest on our team in terms of things to remember — knowing what’s going on with alignment, when to block, where to block. There’s a lot of mental to it.
“He’s really getting better and better at that as the weeks have gone by.”
The Wolves’ offense, meanwhile, struggled. They were limited to 34 yards in the first half and 79 for the game.
Senior cornerback Michael Parrott scored on a 100-yard kickoff return for Oswego East to cut the deficit to 14-7 but the damage was done.
“Six of the teams Yorkville has played have been in the same situation,” LeBlanc said. “Their front seven is probably one of the strongest front sevens I’ve seen in my 16 years coaching high school football.”
