Bolingbrook threw the football early and often and deep this season. Jonas Williams, the Raiders’ freshman phenom quarterback, posted huge numbers and slung long balls all over the field to I’Marion Stewart and Kyan Berry-Johnson, his two talented receivers.
Maine South was ready. The Hawks added a defensive package to focus on deep passes and coach Dave Inserra had the raw data: Bolingbrook passed the ball 80 percent of the time.
Suddenly, an offense that averaged 42 points against a challengig schedule couldn’t score. Maine South shut out the Raiders 24-0 in a Class 8A first-round playoff game Friday in Park Ridge.
“We knew they would be tough but I didn’t anticipate getting shut out,” Bolingbrook coach John Ivlow said. “I thought it would be a shootout. It’s just one of those things that happens. They do it right here.”
Williams was 15 of 29 passing for 113 yards with four interceptions.
“He was getting hit but still trying to throw the ball afterwards,” Maine South linebacker Brady Marques said. “We wanted to take advantage of that and ended up getting two pics off of it. The defensive line did a great job keeping the pressure on him.”
The Hawks played most of their season with starting quarterback Ryan Leyden. The senior was injured Sept. 2 against Warren. Junior Jack DeFilippis filled in admirably, but Maine South’s offense hit a different level with the experienced lefty under center.
Leyden played five drives in the Hawks’ Week 9 win against New Trier. That was his first appearance since the injury.
“He played outstanding,” Inserta said. “But he still has a long way to go in terms of getting both healthy and more sharp.”
Maine South (8-2) settled for field goal attempts on its first two drives. Michael Dellumo’s big second effort led to a three-yard touchdown early in the second quarter that put the Hawks up 10-0. Leyden connected with Sean Mullan on a 14-yard score later in the quarter and Leyden scored on a one-yard run midway through the third quarter.
Leyden was 18-for-36 passing for 222 yards with one interception.
“I’ve learned a lot the past four years,” Leyden said. “Last year I was on a state-runner up team. This week I had a lot of reps in practice and got used to the play calling. Our coaches put us in a position to be successful. I just had to execute.”
Ryan Leyden to Sean Mullan for a 14-yard TD pass. Maine South leads Bolingbrook 17-0 with 6:04 left in the 2Q. pic.twitter.com/WnxdjmDsuA
— Michael O'Brien (@michaelsobrien) October 29, 2022
Dellumo, a sophomore, had 13 carries for 69 yards. Mullen caught four passes for 56 yards and Maurice Densmore had five receptions for 71 yards.
“[Bolingbrook] obviously posed some threats,” Inserra said. “We knew they were going to throw the ball and we had to take away the run and be able to focus on the passing game. The boys did a great job of getting pressure on him.”
Joshua Robinson had 13 carries for 57 yards for the Raiders (6-4). Stewart finished with eight catches for 54 yards.
Maine South will face undefeated South Elgin on the road in the second round next weekend.
“Our expectations haven’t changed since the summer,” Marques said. “It’s always the same here. The goal is a state title.”
