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lockportlegend.com sports
the Lockport Legend | October 5, 2017 | 39
fastbreak
Football
Loss to Raiders eliminates Porters from postseason contention
1st and 3
Mark Korosa/
22ndCentury Media
Lockport football
gets doubled up by
Bolingbrook
1. Eliminated from
postseason play
The Porters fell to
1-5 on the season
with a 42-21 loss
Friday, Sept. 29, at
Bolingbrook. As a
result, the Porters
were eliminated
from playoff
consideration.
2. Put in a quick hole
The Raiders had a
quick start to the
contest, piling up
touchdowns to lead
Lockport 35-0 by
the end of the first
quarter before LTHS
eventually made the
final score a little
closer.
3. Making plays
Senior wide receiver
Nick Ward had a
strong game for the
Porters, finishing
with 10 catches for
84 yards.
Randy Whalen
Freelance Reporter
Last year the Lockport
Township football team
came into a matchup with
Bolingbrook in the sixth
week of the season looking
to solidify a playoff position.
This year Lockport came
into a matchup with Bolingbrook
in the sixth week of
the season looking to keep
its playoff hopes alive.
Unfortunately for the Porters,
that didn’t happen. The
host Raiders scored early
and often and cruised to a
42-21 victory in a South-
West Suburban Conference
matchup on Friday, Sept. 30,
in Bolingbrook.
With the win, Bolingbrook
(5-1, 3-1) is playoff eligible
after not making the postseason
last year for the first
time since 1991, a streak
of 24 straight seasons. The
Raiders did, however, defeat
Lockport last year 27-22
before finishing with a 4-5
record. That was their first
losing season since 1981.
PRESSBOX PICKS
Our staff’s predictions for
the top games in Week 7
Lincoln-Way West (4-2) at Thornton (4-2)
Lockport (1-5) at Lincoln-Way East (6-0)
Sandburg (2-4) at Stagg (4-2)
Lincoln-Way Central (5-1) at Waubonsie Valley (3-3)
Providence Catholic (4-2) hosts Fenwick (4-2)
The loss eliminated Lockport
(1-5, 0-4) from playoff
consideration. The Porters
were coming off a six-win
campaign last year and
hoped to match that total this
season. Instead, they will
miss the playoffs for the fifth
time in six years.
“We had high expectations,”
Lockport coach Dan
Starkey said. “This is not
where we expected to be. We
just have to keep working to
get better.”
Porter quarterback Jacob
Karli agreed.
“It’s tough to be out of
contention,” Karli said. “But
that couldn’t be a reason to
stop playing.”
Karli didn’t stop playing
in the second half. The junior
tossed a 17-yard TD pass to
senior Jasirian Thomas with
1:18 to play in the game.
That accounted for the final
score. Karli (12-of-20 passing,
108 yards, TD, INT; 9
carries-30 yards) also accounted
for most of the Porters
yards.
22-8
Tom Czaja | Contributing
Editor
• LW West 30, Thornton 13. More
battle-tested Warriors comfortably
able to get past Wildcats on the
road.
• LW East
• Sandburg
• LW Central
• Providence
22-8
Tim Carroll | Sports Editor
• LW West 27, Thornton 18. West
just beat Sandburg, and Sandburg
already beat Thornton. That’s just
the transitive property.
• LW East
• Sandburg
• LW Central
• Providence
Max Lapthorne | Editor
• LW East
• Stagg
• LW Central
• Providence
Austin Hoffman stops Bolingbrook’s Anthony Vespo after
a big gain Friday, Sept. 29, during Lockport’s loss to the
Raiders in Bolingbrook. Mark Korosa/22nd Century Media
Lockport leading rusher,
senior Tavares Moore (8 carries,
21 yards), left the game
in the second quarter with
an ankle injury and didn’t
return.
But by that time the Porters
were down big. That’s
because Bolingbrook scored
35 points in the first quarter,
a team record against Lockport.
Quarterback Anthony
Vespo accounted for four
first quarter touchdowns
with his passing. The senior
finished 11-of-14 passing for
315 yards and the four TD’s.
He added five carries for
seven yards and was involved
in 322 of Bolingbrook’s
326 first half yards.
Vespo did not play in the
second half. The Raiders finished
with 329 total yards in
the game.
“We didn’t get enough going
at the point of attack on
defense,” Starkey said. “It
turned into a 7-on-7 game.
They have special athletes
and were able to get to the
outside. We were just outmaned
in the spacing.”
In the meantime, the Porters
first three possessions
netted one first down.
“I just feel like we didn’t
execute enough,” Karli said.
“We didn’t execute as a
team.”
But Bolingbrook did execute.
Vespo fired a pair of
TD passes in less than four
minutes, the first of which,
a 29-yard strike to junior
wide receiver Yorel Davis (3
21-9
• LW West 17, Thornton 10. West
inches closer to a playoff berth
with grind-it-out road victory.
20-10
Joe Coughlin | Publisher
• LW West 35, Thornton 14. Wildcats
are outgunned in this matchup,
as Warriors get a step closer to
playoffs.
• LW East
• Sandburg
• LW Central
• Providence
catches, 53 yards) came just
54 seconds into the game.
Vespo then opened it up
with a 67-yard TD pass to
senior I’Shawn Stewart (2
catches-114 yards) for a
21-0 lead with 5:06 to go in
the quarter. Then 38 seconds
later there was another score
as Jordan Pringle picked off
a pass, juggled the ball about
four times, but held onto it
and took it to the house for
Please see football, 38
19-11
Heather Warthen | Chief
Operating Officer
• Thornton 17, LW West 14. This
is going to be a close one, but a
tough loss for the Warriors.
• LW East
• Sandburg
• LW Central
• Providence
LISTEN UP
“We had high expectations. This is not where we expected
to be. We just have to keep working to get better.”
Dan Starkey — Lockport football coach, after his team’s record fell to 1-5
following a loss to Bolingbrook
Tune In
Football
Facing a giant — 7:30 p.m. Oct. 6, at Lincoln-
Way East
• The Porters take on a juggernaut, squaring
off against the undefeated Griffins in
Frankfort.
Index
35 - Athlete of the Week
35 - Athlete of the Month
FASTBREAK is compiled by Contributing Editor
Thomas Czaja, tom@homerhorizon.com.