Sandburg junior running back Luke Basiorka took the handoff off the right side and saw a lot of green in front of him.
He burst through the hole and past a confused defensive back, and 89 yards later he was in the end zone celebrating with his teammates as the Eagles stretched their lead over Lincoln-Way West to 18-points late in the third quarter of the teams’ Sept. 20 matchup in New Lenox.
Sandburg (3-1, 1-0 Southwest Valley Red) would go on to beat the Warriors, 28-22, in the Eagles’ inaugural Southwest Valley Red contest.
Basiorka’s touchdown accounted for just a portion of his 150 rushing yards and one of his two scores on the evening. It was unsurprisingly the longest touchdown run of his high school career.
“The guard did a beautiful job of sealing the edge on the linebacker,” he said. “I was able to take it down and score. It was amazing.”
Eagles junior wide receiver Charlie Snoreck had three catches for 74 yards and touchdown. Sophomore running back Quinn Durkin scored a rushing touchdown.
Sandburg senior quarterback Anthony Shelton started hot, leading the Eagles on touchdown drives on their first two possessions while completing 8-of-11 passes for 133 yards and a 47-yard scoring hookup with Snoreck before the second quarter was two minutes old.
Shelton finished 14-of-20 for 154 yards with the TD and an interception as Sandburg was largely content to run the ball, albeit without much success, after taking a 14-point lead midway through the second quarter.
The tactic was effective because of a determined Eagles defense that was up against a West offense that had scored at least 40 points in each of its first three games, all victories.
The Sandburg ‘D’ bent but did not break, allowing a touchdown and two field goals for the first 46:57 of the game while battling a game Warriors front five and the power running of junior running back Jahan Abubaker.
Junior Vincent Smith recovered a fumble.
Basiorka said the defense’s effort meant a lot, particularly in the second half when Sandburg went to a largely ineffective running game and had several three-and-outs.
“When one side of the ball is struggling the other side is going to pick it up,” he added. “We know that our team’s got us and it shows how connected we are.”
The Eagles appeared to have things well in hand up 28-13 with less than three minutes to play, but an intentional safety taken by Sandburg and a quick Warriors score on the ensuing possession made it 28-22 with 1:03 remaining.
The Eagles were left needing to recover an on-sides kick, which they did, to avoid giving West a chance at a miracle ending.
Sandburg will host Metea Valley (0-4) at 7:30 p.m. Friday, Sept. 27. A victory will make the Eagles 4-1 for the first time since 2015.
