FRANKFORT -- One play can make a big difference in a playoff game, and Waubonsie Valley learned that lesson the hard way in Friday's Class 8A opener at Lincoln-Way East.
With the Griffins holding a 14-3 lead early in the second quarter, the Warriors were threatening to score before the Griffins' Joe Kahlhammer picked off a pass at his own 5-yard line.
Lincoln-Way East added one more touchdown before the break to take a 21-3 lead and then scored twice in the third quarter to claim a 35-17 home victory.
The Griffins (9-1) earn the right to host a second-round playoff game against Mount Carmel, which defeated Naperville Central 42-21 on Friday.
Waubonsie (6-4), which bounced back from an 0-3 start to win its final six regular-season games, scored a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make the final more respectable.
During the final quarter, the Warriors' Tyler Castro (21-of-39 passing, 169 yards) threw a 19-yard scoring pass to Malcolm Buckner and also ran in from 1 yard out.
"I think the interception was a big turning point for us," Warriors coach Paul Murphy said. "If we go in and score there, it's 14-10. They had some new wrinkles tonight that we hadn't seen on tape, but it took us until the fourth quarter to figure it out, but our kids kept battling.
"The Upstate Eight sometimes gets a bad rap, but Upstate Eight guys bring it and we knew that we had to come in here and bring it. Part of our game plan was to be physical with them and show them that we know how to hit."
In the opening half, the Griffins piled up 295 yards of offense and they finished with 442 yards for the game, with 260 of those coming on the ground on 47 carries.
The Griffins scored on a pair of 80-yard drives during the opening quarter to grab a 14-3 lead. The first series was capped by a 7-yard pass from Spencer Stanek (10-of-14, 182 yards passing) to Justin Wittl (17 rushes, 137 yards) just 3:23 into the contest.
Waubonsie moved from its own 20 to the Griffins' 25-yard line on its first drive and pulled to within 7-3 on a 43-yard field goal from Mitch Ewald.
When it got the ball back, East marched downfield again and scored on a 2-yard run by Kevin Starke (13 rushes, 63 yards) with 1:56 left in the opening quarter.
Kahlhammer's interception halted a likely Warriors scoring threat, but Pat Wellman did the same thing a short time later when he picked off a pass at Waubonsie's 19-yard line.
However, Lincoln-Way East added a touchdown with 1:42 remaining in the first half when Stanek hit Starke for an 8-yard score.
The Griffins needed to cover only 42 yards to score again on their first series of the second half. Starke scored on a 9-yard run with 7:17 left in the third to make it 28-3.
When they got the ball back, the Griffins covered 62 yards on a drive that was capped by a 36-yard scoring pass from Stanek to Eric Sawicki (two catches, 74 yards).
The Warriors were led on the ground by Chris Harris (10 carries, 62 yards) and Tre Clark (four, 46) while Mark Hilgers (nine catches, 55 yards) was Castro's favorite target.
"We came out tight because a lot of people were not used to the playoff atmosphere," Castro said. "But we loosened up and realized that we had nothing to lose coming out here and we were here to have fun.
"I'm very proud of every one on this team. No one gave up after we were 0-3 and instead they just got hungry and wanted more and more. We have a lot of things that we can be proud of." Class 8A Playoffs: Lincoln-Way East 35, Waubonsie Valley 17
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