Host Lincoln-Way West took advantage of Lincoln-Way North’s mistakes to earn a hard-fought 16-13 win Friday night in the SouthWest Suburban Red.
The score was tied at 6 heading into the fourth quarter when Warriors linebacker McKenna Wychocki fell on a football that had been snapped over the head of Phoenix quarterback Ryan Arthur. The Warriors took over at the North 13 but had to settle for a 27-yard field goal by Joe Leo, his third of the game, to take a 9-6 lead with 11:51 to play.
The Warriors’ Andrew Gray then blocked a punt on North’s next possession, with West taking over at the Phoenix 30. Warriors running back Javier Montalvo ran it to the 1 on first down, and Rich Kruis scored on the next play to give West (3-2, 2-1) a 16-6 lead with 8:45 left.
The Phoenix (2-3, 1-2) scored a touchdown on an Arthur to Julian Hylton 26-yard pass with 33 seconds left, but the Warriors recovered the ensuing onside kick to preserve the win.
“We just made so many mistakes offensively in our two losses,” Warriors coach Dave Ernst said. “Tonight we played a lot better.”
