THE SKINNY
Joliet West’s defense held King out of the end zone on four cracks from the 1-yard line early on, then stopped the Jaguars on two plays from the 1 late in the first half en route to the nonconference victory.
TURNING POINT
King (1-1) was down 14-0 when it scored on a 16-play, 80-yard drive in the third quarter. Two plays later, West quarterback Anthony DiNardo hit receiver Niko Messino for a 73-yard touchdown pass to re-establish a two-touchdown lead.
THE STAR
Receiver Ronald Banner caught six passes for 95 yards for West (2-0), including 20- and 37-yard scoring passes from DiNardo.
BY THE NUMBERS
King ran 68 offensive plays to West’s 39. But the Jaguars were denied after having fourth-and-goal at the 1 and didn’t score on a 19-play, 91-yard drive that consumed the final 7:05 of the first half. King quarterback Nate Powell rushed for 60 yards and passed for 106. DiNardo was 8-of-12 for 174 yards and Jordan Brown rushed for 139 yards for West.
QUOTABLE
“They just beat us up front. When we didn’t score when we had first-and-goal at the 1, we knew right then they had superior linemen.” — King coach Lonnie Williams