Football: Winkler, L-W East Rain on Sandburg's Parade

Breaking It Down: The  football team gained the upper hand early on in a 31-7 homecoming victory over rival Sandburg on Friday night. East quarterback Blake Winkler set the tone with a 25-yard touchdown pass to J.J. Robertson on the first offensive series. Winkler added three more touchdown passes as the Griffins (5-0, 3-0) remained undefeated and tied for first place in the Southwest Suburban Blue and aired the ball out in the inclement conditions.

Lincoln-Way East's defense immediately went to work, forcing a three-and-out for Sanburg, but punter Kevin Kenes lost the snap, the rain a factor. That led to a Winkler touchdown pass to Justin Corbett from 10 yards out. Later, the Griffins blocked a punt and set up the East offense with another short field. The punt block led to a 6-yard pass from Winkler to Blake Anders. A Sandburg fumble set up a William Will 34-yard field goal, and the Griffins led 24-0 at half.

The second half was much quieter offesnively. Lincoln-Way East's first-team offense was granted a breather after Winkler and Corbett connected again, this time on a 39-yard touchdown play. The Eagles avoided the shutout when second-string quarterback Nate Stamaglia rushed in for a score from 18 yards out.

It was the 10th time the Griffins have defeated the Eagles in 12 meetings.

Patch MVP: Lincoln-Way East's Blake Winkler was 14-of-24 for 230 yards. He threw four touchdown passes.

Lincoln-Way East Stat Pack: Justin Corbett had two touchdown catches and 65 yards receiving. Tyler Starke rushed for 55 yards on three carries. Blake Anders had three catches for 64 yards and a touchdown run.

Sandburg Stat Pack: Mike Rago had six carries for 69 yards, including a 10-yard run on a direct snap off a fake punt. Nate Stamaglia had three carries for 20 yards, including his 18-yard TD run.

Quotable I: Lincoln-Way East Coach Rob Zvonar on taking advantage of field position: "We always talk about forcing turnovers and taking those opportunites. It was probably a combination of the weather and our defense playing well early. With all the things going on, we were happy to get out there and get an early lead."

Quotable II: Sandburg coach Dave Wierzal on giving East the upper hand: "They are a very good football team. We feel like in our first four weeks, we made some mistakes and got away with them. My only hope is that if we take the mistakes out, we represent ourselves better."

Team Records: Lincoln-Way East is 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the Southwest Suburban Blue. Sandburg falls to 4-1 and 2-1.

What's Next: Lincoln-Way East plays at Bolingbrook on Friday, Sept. 30. The Raiders are 5-0 and tied for first in the Southwest Suburban Blue with the Griffins. Sandburg plays host to Joliet Central in its homecoming game on Friday, Sept. 30.

Scores of Interest: Bolingbrook 41, Homewood-Flossmoor 28; Lincoln-Way North 7, Lincoln-Way West 3; St. Rita 19, Providence 0. For more scores, visit IHSA ScoreZone.