Griffins hitting stride in time to make run at second state title

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The truth will reveal itself beginning Saturday at 11 a.m. in Chicago, but the Lincoln-Way East Griffins may finally be hitting their stride just in time for the postseason.

A team of 115 players from two high schools assembled on the fly in January said all the right things over the summer, that team chemistry was flourishing and that the common bond of football had naturally brought them together following the closing of nearby Lincoln-Way North High School.

The reality was the unique transition was going to take time. Calling out blocking assignments, throwing routes, and calling out defensive assignments to teammates who you didn’t know existed six months earlier didn’t happen overnight, and no amount of time spent in the film room or on the practice field could have simulated what it would be like under the Friday night lights. For the more than 50 North transfers, learning an entirely new scheme as well as the tendencies and tempers of a new coaching staff provided their own challenges.

Throw in the fact that all eyes were going to be on the Griffins this year – both because they were chosen as CSN’s Drive team and because they were expected to be among the state title contenders in 8A – and that learning process was only expedited further.

Head coach Rob Zvonar was honest in his assessment of his team following their impressive 28-0 victory over Lockport, admitting that he wasn’t sure if his group was ready for the postseason. It certainly wasn’t an indictment on his team, nor was it a coach being uncertain about his team’s potential.

“I don’t know if we’re ready, to tell you the truth,” he said. “But I know this team can still do more than we’ve done. And I truly believe we haven’t had our best out here, and the challenge for us is to get our best out next week.”

The Griffins accomplished plenty in nine weeks. A deep offense with three threats at running back and four versatile receivers averaged nearly 40 points per game behind Jake Arthur, with dual threat Max Shafer spelling him when he wasn’t running routes. A defense found its identity behind a scary-good defensive line and playmakers in the secondary.

Their low points were a double-edged sword. The two losses they suffered in the regular season came at the hands of Homewood-Flossmoor and Bradley-Bourbonnais, two teams that finished the year with perfect records; the 8A Vikings are the most dangerous No. 4 seed in the state, and the Boilermakers are the top seed in 7A.

The other side of that reality is those were the Griffins’ only real tests in the regular season. Their seven wins came against teams that finished the regular season a combined 27-29. Then again, Zvonar’s group can only play the teams on their schedule. And they more than took care of business against those teams, as they were expected to do, outscoring their opponents in seven wins 308-62, or an average score of 44-9.

But the majority of those teams will be on their couches this weekend. And while Illinois’ largest playoff class is never an easy one, Class 8A will be an absolute nightmare to get through for whichever team eventually hoists the trophy Thanksgiving weekend in Champaign. On last Saturday’s Playoff Pairing Show on CSN, preps analyst Dave Bernhard said the 8A bracket “may be the most powerful class we have ever seen.”

Seven teams finished with undefeated records, while 10 others went 8-1. That slotted the 7-2 Griffins, ranked by Edgy Tim as the No. 13 team in the state, as the No. 18 seed in the 8A bracket.

A whopping 17 of Edgy Tim O’Hallaran’s top 25 teams in this week’s preps rankings are in the 8A field, including the entire top five and 13 of the top 16. The Griffins found a little bit of luck on their side of the bracket thanks to the seeding procedure, as No. 1 Loyola, No. 2 Homewood-Flossmoor and No. 3 Brother Rice are all on the other side of the bracket. Still, a likely path to Champaign would pit the Griffins against the likes of No. 5 Hinsdale Central, No. 18 Barrington and No. 4 Palatine.

“Wherever we go we’ll have to be at our best or we’ll be talking about turning in our pads,” Zvonar admitted of what he called a “juggernaut” of an 8A field.

So why are the Griffins ready for the postseason and ready to make a run at their second state title?

The Week 9 trashing of Lockport was a good start. But earlier in the week the team held a players-only meeting to get back on track and get back to the fundamentals that made them the top-seeded team in the state when the season began.

“We regrouped,” junior defensive lineman Devin O’Rourke said. “We had a great team meeting, and now I feel like everyone is really buying in to what we’re doing here. I think that’s great.”

The team also made a vow to each other, that Friday’s senior night against Lockport wouldn’t be their final home game of the year. They’ll need to beat a talented Taft team to return home in the second round of the playoffs, but the fight they’ve shown in both overcoming adversity and responding to early-season deficits has them in the right frame of mind as they begin their second season.

“(We’re ready for the postseason) because we’re fighters,” quarterback Jake Arthur said. “We’re going to fight every down, every play for the rest of the year. We know we’re not going to make it our last game until Champaign.”

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