Bolingbrook’s defensive ‘demons’ shut down Homewood-Flossmoor

Bolingbrook senior Anthony Harris grabbed the Alec Anderson Trophy and raced over to his family and all the other Raiders fans in attendance on Friday in Flossmoor. It was a well-earned, loud celebration.

No. 19 Bolingbrook beat Homewood-Flossmoor 20-6 for the school’s first win against the Vikings since 2015. It was the first time the trophy, named after a former athletic director for both schools, had been seen by some of the Bolingbrook coaches and school officials.

“It’s pretty big for us,” Harris said. “But at the same time we always knew we were going to beat them. I’ve felt that way since the first time I saw the schedule. We needed that trophy back.”

Harris, a defensive back, helped lead the Raiders’ hard-hitting, stifling defense. Homewood-Flossmoor (4-2, 0-2 Southwest Suburban Blue) reached the red zone twice in the first quarter but Bolingbrook pushed them back and denied any points.

“We are big hitters, we are all some demons,” Harris said.

The Vikings’ red zone possessions didn’t go much better in the second half. Bolingbrook (5-1, 2-1) held H-F scoreless until the final eight minutes of the game, when Kamrin Cox scored on a four-yard run.

“It’s about matchups,” Bolingbrook coach John Ivlow said. “We just kind of look at it as a chess match. Where do we match up good with them and where do we match up bad and try to exploit that. We thought our defensive line had an advantage with their offensive line.”

Senior running back Jaquan Howard carried the offensive load for the Raiders. He had 14 carries for 143 yards with a pair of five-yard touchdown runs.

“The defense stopping them in the first quarter twice like that gave us a lot of momentum as a team,” Howard said. “I knew we had to hold up our end of the bargain after that.”

Bolingbrook quarterback Bobby Ervin was 6-for-8 passing for 27 yards. He scored on a six-yard run in the third quarter to put the Raiders ahead 20-0.

Bolingbrook sophomore Kyan Berry-Johnson, who opened eyes in the spring as a freshman, continues to be one of the area’s most intriguing players. In the third quarter he went up and beat a defender to catch a high pass in the middle of the field and then absorbed a crunching blow and didn’t even flinch. That’s rare at the high school level.

Berry-Johnson also played some defense and punted for the Raiders, whose only loss this season was a close game to Lincoln-Way East.

“We’re healthy and we are playing tough,” Ivlow said. “It’s nice to beat these guys for the first time since 2015. We’ll see what happens now. We’ll try to avenge the Lockport loss from last year.”

Senior Jaedyn Price had 13 carries for 75 yards for the Vikings. Most of his yardage came on a 48-yard run early in the third quarter.

Homewood-Flossmoor quarterback Cameron Oglesby and receiver Myles Walton had a definite connection. Walton had 11 receptions for 142 yards.

Oglesby was 15-for-26 passing for 174 yards.

“We need to get better,” Walton said. “My job is to come in every day and make the team better. It’s not all about me.”

Things don’t get any easier for the Vikings. They face Lincoln-Way East on the road next week.

“We can bounce back really strong,” Walton said. “This is a lesson learned.”