Sports
Football: Lincoln-Way East Rallies to Remain Unbeaten
Lincoln-Way East 20, Bolingbrook 14: Griffins dig out of a 14-0 deficit thanks to the play of Kevin Bayer and Blake Winkler, as they run their record to 6-0.
Breaking It Down: Led by quarterback Blake Winkler and defensive end/running back Kevin Bayer, rallied from a 14-0 deficit to beat host Bolingbrook 20-14 on Friday night in a SouthWest Suburban Blue battle of unbeatens.
East fell behind 14-0 as Bolingbrook quarterback Aaron Gabriel broke through the Griffins defense for 59-yard and 86-yard touchdown runs in the first quarter. The Griffins pulled within 14-6 on a 59-yard touchdown pass from Winkler to Justin Corbett midway through the second quarter. They tied the game on a 14-yard run by Winkler and a two-point conversion pass from Winkler to Jay Yancy in the third quarter. East pulled ahead for good on a 13-yard TD run by Bayer with 5:09 remaining in the game.
Patch's MVP: Lincoln-Way East's Kevin Bayer. In addition to his efforts on the defensive line, Bayer had a huge 29-yard first-down run on his first carry of the season and later scored the go-ahead touchdown.
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Lincoln-Way East Stat Pack: Winkler was 10-of-18 passing for 129 yards. Bayer had 45 yards and a touchdown on just three carries. Justin Corbett had two catches for 64 yards and J.J. Robertson had four catches for 20 yards.
Bolingbrook Stat Pack: Quarterback Aaron Bailey was tackled for a loss seven times but still collected 203 yards on 21 carries while scoring both touchdowns for the Raiders. Wide receiver Chandler Piekarski caught four passes for 47 yards.
Find out what's happening in Frankfortwith free, real-time updates from Patch.
Quotable I: Lincoln-Way East coach Rob Zvonar on the momentum shift: "If there was a turning point in the game from an emotional and momentum point, it was certainly Kevin Bayer, who is as good as defensive end I think there is in the Chicago area."
Quotable II: Bolingbrook coach John Ivlow on the tight contest: "It's an instant classic. That's how you play football, bottom line. I'm proud of our kids. We made some mistakes offensively and defensively. They made some mistakes. You play that game 10 times and it's probably 50-50."
Team Records: Lincoln-Way East improved to 6-0 overall and 4-0 in SouthWest Suburban Blue play. Bolingbrook fell to 5-1, 3-1.
What's Next: Lincoln-Way East travels to Lincoln-Way Central next Friday while Bolingbrook also is on the road Friday, traveling to Orland Park to face Sandburg.
Check back later for photos from this game.
