Bill Lidinsky Web Page
The
Nation Rolls Through Wilmington
Reapers Use Big Plays To Silence Wildcats
By Bill Lidinsky
Amid all the hoopla, pre game prognostication, and posturing that always seems
to accompany a Plano-Wilmington matchup was the simple fact that last Friday
nights game was the Super Bowl for the host Wildcats.
And why not? The Nation was breezing into town undefeated at 5-0 and ranked
number two in Illinois Class 3A football, not to mention the two losses the
Reapers hung on Wilmington last season that still stick in the sides of the
Wildcat faithful.
In essence, Plano dethroned Wilmington in 2005 as Kings of the Interstate Eight
Conference gridiron and the Wildcats saw this as possibly their only opportunity
to regain the crown this season.
With pomp and circumstance akin to the NFL’s title game, Wilmington pulled
out all the stops with a magnificent pre game celebration certainly designed
to intimidate an opponent.
The Nation however, is intimidated by none!! And within 48 minutes they put
to rest any ideas of grandeur that the Wildcats had at regaining the throne.
Behind a big play offense and a ‘Doberman’ like attack defense,
Plano once again left no doubt why they are the best team in the I-8 so far
this season with a 24-9 decisive victory over Wilmington. The Wildcats had once
again been silenced for the second year in a row.
“I thought Wilmington prepared well for us. They were more creative tonight
than they were last year in the playoffs. This season they spread it out a little
more and I think they did a nice job,” said Plano head football coach
Jim Green. “It’s never a ‘w’ down here until you walk
off the field. But I think we asserted ourselves very well against a good ballclub.”
The Reaper offensive engine took some time to warm up going three-and-out on
their first trifecta of possessions. But the Plano defense was electric, forcing
the Wildcats to punt on their first three series.
Then on their fourth possession, the Nation struck with their first big play.
On first-and-ten from the Plano 32 yard line, senior quarterback Brook Bott
faked to senior running back Nick Nasti and handed to junior back Luis Alvarado.
With the vast majority of the Wilmington defense on top of Nasti in the pile,
Alvarado bolted around left tackle down the sidelines for a 68-yard touchdown
run with 45 seconds left to play in the first quarter. Sophomore kicker Kevin
Jernigan’s point after was good and the Reapers led 7-0.
“They focused on Nick and it made it easy for me to run. It was a simple
play and it was wide open for me,” Alvarado said.
The quarter ended with the Reapers up 7-0 and once again Plano’s defense
held Wilmington to three-and-out on their first possession of the second period.
With the ball on the Reaper 31, senior running back Jared Ferguson took Bott’s
first down handoff after the fake to Nasti and rambled 69-yards around the left
side for another apparent touchdown. But Plano was ticketed for an illegal block
and the score was nullified by the penalty. And for the sixth time this year
a Reaper touchdown was called back due to an infraction. The miscue temporarily
changed the look of the game.
“It was just unfortunate once again that we made a big play to go up 14-0
and due to a penalty it got called back,” Green said. “It changed
the whole complexion of the game for a time and it allowed them really to stay
in the game for the first half.”
Three plays later Bott’s pitch to Alvarado went astray and the Reaper’s
had committed their first turnover of the year, as Wilmington recovered on the
Plano 36 yard line.
Seven plays later, Wilmington junior Kyle Cragg punched in a two-yard touchdown
run. The Cats point after kick was wide and Plano still led 7-6 with 5:57 to
go in the half.
Almost unbelievably, the Reapers coughed the ball up two plays into their next
possession. Ferguson’s miscue was recovered by Wilmington at the Plano
42. Plano locked down on defense after the Wildcats moved the ball to the 17.
But Wilmington junior Eric Welps connected on a 24-yard field goal with 1:47
left in the first half and the Reapers trailed 9-7 for only the first time this
season.
But Wilmington’s euphoria would be short lived. On the ensuing kickoff,
Ferguson had a big return to the Wildcats 49 yard line. Once again Reaper Nation
asserted their dominance on the first play from scrimmage.
Bott again faked to Nasti up the middle and found Alvarado wide open down the
left sideline for a 49-yard scoring strike. The point after snap was muffed
and the Reapers were quickly back on top 13-9 with 1:30 left to go in the half.
“Luis was so wide open that right before I threw it, I was checking to
see if there were any defenders hiding somewhere,” Bott said. “All
their guys had their backs to him and he caught it in stride for an easy touchdown.”
The half ended with Plano up 13-9 and then the rains came in the third quarter
slowing offensive progress a bit for both clubs.
But in the fourth quarter the Nation rose up to take what was theirs.
On the first play from scrimmage in the final period, the Reapers were facing
a third-and-five from their own 36.
Bott once again faked to Nasti. With all of Wilmington once again on top of
Nasti in the pile, Bott calmly hit Ferguson down the sideline with a 63-yard
scoring strike at 11:50. Bott then hit Ferguson with a two-point pass in which
Fergy out jumped the Wildcat defender for the conversion.
The Nation was in command now leading 21-9.
On Wilmington’s next possession, the Reaper defense took charge. After
the Wildcats moved the ball to the Plano 29, senior Victor Diaz picked off quarterback
Vince Vercelli on a screen pass and returned the ball to the Wilmington 32 yard
line.
“Coach drew it up on defense and I was there for the pick. I thought I
could’ve made it all the way for the touchdown, but we made them pay anyhow,”
Diaz said.
From there Jernigan added a 37-yard field goal at 5:19 to give the Reapers the
15 point victory.
As in the previous five games Plano’s big play ability and stifling defense
were the keys to victory.
“Our big play potential is huge. Teams key so much on Nick like Wilmington
did tonight. But we have so many other weapons. And you saw that again with
Luis and Ferg stepping up along with our defense which was outstanding for the
sixth week in a row,” Green said.
Alvarado led Plano in rushing with three carries for 72 yards and one touchdown,
while Nasti was limited to 33 yards on 14 carries due to the intense pressure
that Wilmington put on him defensively. He has easily become the most feared
running back in all of IHSA Class A football with every opponents defense keying
on him so far this season.
“Every time I’ve played so far this year, I’ve been a decoy
of sorts. Each team we’ve faced has stacked nine guys in the middle and
tonight was no different. I knew it would be a big game offensively for a few
of my teammates,” Nasti said.
Nasti proved huge on defense as well posting ten tackles and seven assists including
some bone crunching efforts on the Wildcat runners.
With the win Plano improves to 6-0 overall and 3-0 in the IEC Small division.
Next up is the Reaper’s Homecoming Saturday Oct. 7 at 2 p.m. versus Coal
City.
The Coalers are currently 3-3 overall this season and have lost their last two
in a row, including a 20-7 defeat at the hands of Westmont last Friday night
at home.
Even more incentive for Plano is that Coal City gave them a 7-6 loss in week
one last year at Reaper Stadium. But the tables have turned dramatically since
then in the I-8 and the Nation is set to avenge last years defeat on their home
turf.
“We’ve got an extra day to prepare with a Saturday game. Hopefully
we can regroup a bit a get a little extra rest. We want to get the Coalers while
they’re down and keep moving toward the playoffs and an undefeated regular
season in the Interstate Eight,” Green said.
With Wilmington now dispatched, Coal City is next. The power shift in the I-8
can officially be punctuated with a big win on Saturday. From there it’s
Dwight and Manteno to close out the regular season hopefully with a 9-0 mark
and an eye on the 3A State Championship. There can only be one!!
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