INSIDE: Several area girls golfers qualify for sectionals, page 12; Benet boys golf wins regional title, page 13
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THE BUGLE OCTOBER 16, 2013
11
Lisle tops Westmont in Interstate 8 battle By Mark Gregory Sports Reporter
Lisle was off school Friday prior to its Interstate Eight Small Division game with Westmont at Benedictine University in Lisle and coach Dan Sanko said it showed despite the Lions getting the 21-0 win. “We were off school today and we played like we were off school today,” Sanko said. “And that is no excuse. We have to come out and play a little cleaner than we did. I was not happy with the way we came out and I let them know that at half. Not that it did any good because we came right out and fumbled the ball out of the half but I am happy that we finished and got the shutout.” Lisle (4-3, 3-2) intercepted Westmont (1-6, 1-4) quarterback Tim Doll three times in the first half, but only held a 14-0 advantage at the break. “We had three turnovers in the first half and we only had 14 points to show for it and only one touchdown came off the turnover. We have to take advantage of this,” Sanko said. “This is a game we should have won, but they played well against some teams that we haven’t done so well against and this is a regular rivalry, so you can throw things out the window.” The win earned Lisle the “Old PlankTrophy,”the traveling trophy is named after Old Plank Road, now Ogden Avenue, which is the main road running between the neighboring communities. It was started in 2006 when Westmont rejoined the I-8 Small. Lisle holds a 6-2 advantage in the series. Lisle won the game with sophomore quarterback Alec VanVolkenburg at the helm, replacing the injured Griffin Huba. “He hurt (his shoulder) against
Wilmington last week,” Sanko said about Huba. “At first we thought it was a rotator cuff, but it’s not that. He just has to heal. We need to get him healthy.” For the most part, Lisle rode senior Cliff Krause, who rushed for 131 yards and had three total touchdowns. VanVolkenburg did get his highlight in the third quarter, when he hit Krause for a 70-yard pitch and catch TD to put Lisle up 21-0. “The ball wasn’t supposed to go to him,” Sanko joked of VanVolkenburg’s read. “He made a helluva throw, but the first read is the out for the first down which was wide open. But he threw the ball in a perfect spot and Cliff was on tonight and had a helluva game.” It was the first time the rivals have faced off since Westmont hired veteran coach Otto Zeman, who is known for his spread offense. Sanko said, however, the offense is not as big of a shock as it was when Zeman ran it at Riverside-Brookfield. “They are running what everyone else in the conference runs” Sanko said.“It is a hybrid of all the different stuff, but for the most part we have seen it.” Westmont was also playing with key players out or hobbled, impacting the execution of the offense. “We really got banged up last week against Dwight,” Zeman said.“Daniel LoGiurato can’t run. Greg Pietrzak his ankles were bad and we shouldn’t have played him, but we had no receivers. We had a couple of kids who I think got concussions tonight, so they will be out probably the rest of the year. We have to try and put the pieces together and keep fighting.That is what it’s all about.” Follow Mark @2Mark_My_Words mark@buglenewspapers.com
Mark Gregory/Bugle Staff
Lisle sophomore quarterback Alec VanVolkenburg hands off to senior running back Kevin Coppin in the Lions’ 21-0 win over Westmont Friday.