So, how did Lincoln-Way East’s Conner Durkin celebrate being unanimously selected by the conference as the SouthWest Suburban Blue’s defensive player of the year?
By getting a tackle for a loss on the first defensive stand of the night Friday. The senior linebacker set the tone, which wasn’t a surprise at all to veteran coach Rob Zvonar.
“Oh, man, Conner is the epitome of a Dick Butkus high school linebacker,” Zvonar said. “He might not have the length to play Division I football, but he’s going to finish as our all-time leading tackler, and he’s as good of a linebacker as we’ve had.
“And we’ve had some real good ones here.”
Real good? Durkin and the Griffins’ defense put up a dominant performance during a 28-0 victory over Minooka in the second round of the Class 8A playoffs in Frankfort.
Lincoln-Way East (11-0) allowed just 49 yards and had 13 tackles for losses or sacks against Minooka (8-3), which was held to minus-4 yards rushing. The Indians ran for 13 yards on three plays against the Griffins’ second-string defense late in the game or it would have been worse.
Durkin, who came in with a team-high 98 tackles and seven for loss, was ready on Minooka’s first play as he tackled a running back for a 5-yard loss.
The Griffins will play next weekend in the state quarterfinals against Warren or South Elgin.
“That was awesome,” Durkin said. “That was one of the plays we practiced against all week. It went just as we planned it. The defense played fantastic. We didn’t make many mistakes.
“We had a great night. Everyone played their butts off.”
Durkin, David Wuske, Josiah Manumaleuna and Caden O’Rourke were the main culprits making Minooka’s night more miserable than the recent weather.
Offensively, the Griffins mustered two field goals by Robert Mensching in the first half but came on strong in the final 24 minutes.
Braden Tischer, the conference’s offensive player of the year, threw for 101 yards and a touchdown to Cade Serauskis and ran for 48 yards and a TD. Nuri Muhammad eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for rushing with a 147-yard performance and scored a TD.
Durkin, Wuske and O’Rourke also made a cameo appearance on offense for a fourth-and-1 play that Zion Gist successfully converted in the second quarter to keep a drive alive that led to the second field goal.
“That’s our ‘Tarzan Special,'” Wuske said of the formation. “I think Durk is Tarzan. He’s the one who manhandles that whole thing. I love being on offense and being able to hit one of the defensive guys.”
Wuske also loves watching Durkin play.
“‘Durk’ is a man you look to for anything,” Wuske said. “He knows everything. In summer camp, when it came to two-a-days, he was calling out the offensive plays and where they were going before the coaches just based on where they were lined up.
“He’s the brains of our defense, and he does everything. He tears it up.”
The 5-foot-11, 210-pound Durkin, who has visited Carthage and Butler, said he started in football at age 6 because his buddies were playing and he got hooked.
“I love the physicality of it,” Durkin said. “I love being able to come out here and be physical, and I love the camaraderie of the game, too.”
When it comes to playing defense, it’s something Durkin has embraced.
“I always played defense and I always played linebacker,” Durkin said. “It’s a position that’s the best of both worlds. I get to play the run. I get to play the pass.”
Jeff Vorva is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
