Lincoln-Way East hits five straight wins after victory over Joliet West

Facing a much-improved team a week after an improbable come-from-behind win over Homewood-Flossmoor could have set the stage for a trap for Lincoln-Way East.

However, the Griffins would have none of it.

Lincoln-Way East scored 28 unanswered points to break open a close game and post a 42-14 SouthWest Suburban Blue victory over Joliet West Friday in Frankfort.

No. 9 Lincoln-Way East (5-1, 4-0) won its fifth straight contest and 38th consecutive home conference game dating back to 2004. Joliet West fell to 3-3, 1-3.

“This most definitely could have been a trap game for us,” Lincoln-Way East coach Rob Zvonar said. “We felt it there when it was 14-all. There’s no doubt it’s hard to refocus coming off a game like last week.”

A week earlier, Lincoln-Way East rallied from a 20-0 deficit to shock H-F 43-40.

“We had to stay focused and carry the momentum we had last week into this week,” senior receiver Paul Gossage said.

A pair of 1-yard touchdown runs by Liam Morrissey (28 carries, 103 yards, three touchdowns) helped the Griffins race to a 14-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Joliet West quarterback Alex Tibble threw a 12-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Henderson and scrambled 39 yards for a score to tie the game at 14-all with 3:34 left in the half.

Morrissey’s 4-yard touchdown run, his 16th of the season, with 1:21 left gave the Griffins a 21-14 lead at the intermission.

“They had us on our heels defensively, and it became a football game,” Zvonar said. “We scored right before the half and finished the game. I was proud of the way our defense played in the second half.”

Lincoln-Way East quarterback Mike Weller (13-of-21, 224 yards, two touchdowns) and Gossage hooked up for the longest play from scrimmage. It was a screen pass that turned into a 59-yard touchdown and a 28-14 lead with 6:13 left in the third.

“It was a well designed play, and Mike made a great pass to me,” Gossage said. “That helped us get our momentum going, again.”

John Zelenika caught a pair of touchdown passes of 31 and 24 yards from Weller in the third and fourth quarters.

Tibble completed 20-of-40 passes for 236 yards and a touchdown for Joliet West.