As Oak Lawn’s defense was mounting a goal-line stand against visiting Wheeling on Aug. 29, coach Ryan Pattison was talking with his offensive coordinator about what to do if the Spartans got the ball back.
Oak Lawn did force a turnover on downs and the Spartans took over at their own 4-yard line. The play Pattison and his staff dialed up couldn’t have worked any better.
Sophomore quarterback Danny Strelow hit slotback Alex Soto in stride about 20 yards downfield and Soto did the rest for a 96-yard touchdown.
According to Hudl, that was the longest pass in the state in Week 1, and it highlighted a 52-0 win for the Spartans that broke a 17-game losing streak.
“We ended up with Alex Soto in space and that’s dangerous for an opponent,” Pattison told Southwest Regional. “He’s a special player in terms of his elusiveness. … He was one-on-one with the cornerback, made him miss. And with the free safety, Soto kind of beat his angle.”
Soto finished with eight carries for 104 yards and the one catch for 96 to give him an even 200 total yards. Junior Jayden Schlosser added 10 carries for 151 yards and two touchdowns as the Spartans broke the game open early in the third quarter.
A big push by the offensive line — right tackle Jesse Paredes, right guard Karmoni Polk, center Alberto Silva, left guard Xavier Woodson and left tackle Laith Bani-Salman — helped pave the way for those big offensive numbers.
Four of those five linemen started last year and three of them will be back next season. Nine defensive starters are back this season and seven of them will return in 2026.
“Our team is young but they’re experienced,” Pattison said.
That’s not the only good news on the roster front. Oak Lawn has 134 players in the program this season, doubling its total in the last four years, and can field freshman, sophomore and varsity teams now.
And now that losing streak is over. The Spartans will try to go to 2-0 on Sept. 5 when they travel to Thornridge (0-1).
“I don’t want to be complacent,” Pattison said. “But yes, it was a breath of fresh air to get one (win). We were so close in so many games last year.”