Oswego rumbles past Minooka
By Paul Johnson For Sun-Times Media September 8, 2012 12:38AM
Updated: October 10, 2012 6:29AM
After suffering a humbling Week 2 loss to Waubonsie Valley, all Oswego could do was move forward.
The Panthers did that in a big way Friday night in their Southwest Prairie opener at Minooka.
Oswego throttled the Indians 42-0. By the time the Panthers had put the running clock in motion near the end of the third quarter, their defense had allowed Minooka’s offense just 18 yards and one first down.
“The fortunate thing with high school kids is that they have a short memory,” Oswego coach Brian Cooney said. “It’s easy for them, especially a tight-knit group like this, to erase the losses and bounce back. It did sting, and they took some lumps in film. All you can do is bounce back.”
Oswego (2-1, 1-0) got things going early and often offensively. Mickeel Stewart (20 carries, 102 yards) scored on runs of 3 and 17 yards in the first quarter to open things up. Quarterback Brett Wainwright ran one in from a yard out with 5:27 left in the first half.
The moment when Wainwright really shined came near the end of the half. A 59-yard Minooka punt pinned the Panthers at their own 1-yard line. Wainwright (9-for-12, 172 yards) guided the Panthers on a nine-play, 99-yard scoring drive, capped by an 11-yard TD pass to Jack Kwiatkowski, to push the lead to 28-0 at halftime. On the drive, Wainwright was 5-of-6 passing for 84 yards.
Wainwright hit Elliot McGaughy (5 catches, 96 yards) for a 50-yard score in the third and freshman quarterback Steven Frank completed the scoring with a 6-yard TD strike to Kwiatkowski (5 catches, 84 yards).
Minooka (0-3, 0-1) finds itself in a tough position, needed to run the table to ensure a playoff spot.
“We’re going to show up and coach our kids,” Minooka coach Paul Forsythe said. “We’re still trying to find a rhythm. Right now, we’re having a hard time making plays.”
