When senior running back James Kwiecinski was told he had carried the ball 33 times for Lincoln-Way East, he could hardly believe it Friday night.
He was even ready for more.
“It didn’t feel like that many,” Kwiecinski said. “That was a long game, but I feel great. I can do it again. Let’s play it again.”
Kwiecinski ran for 181 yards and five touchdowns to help the host Griffins overcome a huge performance by Bolingbrook freshman quarterback Jonas Williams and win a 42-32 SouthWest Suburban Blue shootout.
“I’m really proud of James and the O-line, especially stepping up at the end and finishing the game,” Lincoln-Way East coach Rob Zvonar said. “We made a few plays on defense here and there, but overall, this game was won by our offense.”
Braden Tischer completed 7 of 16 passes for 144 yards, including a 36-yard TD to Cade Serauskis, while Jake Scianna had two key interceptions for Lincoln-Way East (5-0, 1-0).
Williams ended up completing 23 of 46 passes for 402 yards and five TDs for Bolingbrook (3-2, 1-1) against the Griffins’ vaunted defense.
While an offensive slugfest has been a regular occurrence for the Raiders this season, Lincoln-Way East was prepared to beat Bolingbrook at its own game.
“We talked about taking time off the clock, but we wanted to score,” Kwiecinski said. “We wanted to put them behind. It was a tough game, but when you do it in practice all year, it’s something we knew we could do.”
Kwiecinski ran for four TDs in the first half, including a 3-yarder with 12 seconds left that sent the Griffins into halftime with a 35-19 lead.
Bolingbrook, though, scored two TDs in a 22-second span in the third quarter to pull within 35-32.
It turned into the type of game Zvonar was expecting.
“The passing game they have is incredible,” Zvonar said of Bolingbrook. “Their quarterback is a freshman sensation. We knew we were in for a long night defensively.
“I don’t do this often, but all week long I told the guys we might be in for a shootout where the last team with the ball wins kind of thing. That’s what it was.”
Kwiecinski had the answer one more time, running for a 4-yard TD to give the Griffins a necessary 42-32 lead late in the third quarter.
“We don’t win the game without our offensive line,” Kwiecinski said. “We’ve all done this since January, coming out at 5 a.m. and putting work in.
“I feel very confident. I think we have the best offensive line in the state.”
The Griffins’ starting offensive line of Will Heitner, Josh Janowski, Colin Redmond, Bradley Abbott and Joe Torelli had plenty to be proud of afterward.
“It’s awesome,” Janowski said. “There’s no better feeling.”
Janowski was quick to return the compliments to Kwiecinski.
“He’s a dog,” Janowski said. “There’s not always holes, but he makes something happen every time. He just fights.”
While the Griffins had no answer for Williams throughout much of the night, Scianna had his number twice.
Scianna’s interception in the second quarter gave the Griffins great field position and set up Kwiecinski’s 4-yard TD run.
Then, Scianna’s second interception early in the fourth quarter thwarted a Bolingbrook drive just outside the red zone and sealed the victory.
“We found a way to win,” Zvonar said. “There was a lot of good and a lot of bad, and this will make us a better football team.
“I’ve always said with football, you don’t get 162 games like baseball, so you go into every game needing to win but also learn something. We definitely did both of those things in this game.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.
