Days after the Lincoln-Way East Griffins were run off the field in Bradley by the undefeated Boilermakers in Week 8, senior captain Nick Zelenika and the rest of the team’s captains held a players-only meeting. Not uncommon for a group to do, though certainly rare for a high school team, the meeting challenged not only seniors, but underclassmen as well to step up in the face of adversity.
With just one game remaining before the gauntlet of an 8A playoff bracket began, the Eagles finally felt what it was like to have their collective backs up against the wall. And in that meeting, Zelenika and the seniors also made a pledge. Knowing that their two-loss record would mean a road game in the first round of the playoffs, the team challenged each other to make sure their upcoming Week 9 game, senior night against Lockport, wouldn’t be their final home game.
After trouncing Lockport 28-0, the Griffins began their playoff run last Saturday in Chicago against Taft, a team that had gone 8-1 and had allowed 21 or fewer points in their final six victories. Playing at historic Lane Tech Stadium, the Griffins looked every bit the part of an 8A contender. After a quick Eagles touchdown on the game’s opening possession – Taft recovered an onside kick to begin the game – Rob Zvonar’s group reeled off 63 unanswered points and played the entire second half with a running clock.
“Us captains decided that we should talk and just have a player meeting and, to sum up the whole thing, for seniors, North and East coming together for the first year, now four weeks left,” Zelenika said. “Just putting in as much work as you possibly can, whether it’s scout, whether you’re first string. Anything you can do to help the team and just keep working every single day and have no regrets. Do everything you possibly could just to help the team win.”
The offense looked as sharp as it has all season. Jake Arthur threw touchdown passes to Zelenika and Jeremy Nelson. Six different Griffins scored on the ground, and the Griffins defense clamped down after a reverse pass set up the Eagles’ first and only score of the afternoon.
The trouncing in Chicago helped the Griffins accomplish their goal of getting another home game. Their opponent was revealed a few hours after their win, when 5-4 Waubonsie Valley upset top-seeded and previously undefeated Hinsdale Central. Zvonar has preached to his team during the postseason to respect all opponents the same, and they understand they’ll have a steep test in front of them come Saturday night.
Tight end Charles Robinson scored four touchdowns for the Warriors in their 33-23 victory, and their 5-4 record won’t fool the Eagles into thinking they’ve got an easy path to the quarterfinals; in Week 2 the Warriors went on the road and upset Glenbard North, which finished the regular season 7-2 and ranked No. 9 in Edgy Tim’s Top 25 preps power rankings.
The dog days are upon the final 16 teams remaining in the 8A bracket, but Zvonar’s message to his group has been heard loud and clear: physical pain trumps the emotional pain of losing a do-or-die matchup.
“You may be a little bit banged up, a little bit fatigued, a little bit slower walking out to practice these days,” Zvonar recalled telling his group, “but the pain of turning your pads in is an awful lot worse than getting out there and practicing hard.”
The Griffins don’t need to be told that, as much as Zvonar’s words are heard by his group. That senior-led team meeting reiterated as much. Now the hope is those words translate into first downs, touchdowns and forced turnovers on Saturday night at home.
“Seniors really stepped up. We just had to get this team on track. Obviously we were lacking a lot of leadership and that I think (the players-only meeting) put a lot of the seniors out and called them out and made them be leaders,” cornerback Colton Pederson said. “There’s been a lot of guys stepping up.”
Added Zvonar: “For those kids to get together and want to do that was a testament to them and their leadership. And hopefully whatever was said was good and it keeps working.”