Foltys, Pancoska lead Lockport
JOLIET -- Foltys and Pancake.
Sounds like a name for a breakfast place or perhaps a new version of Starsky and Hutch.
But the combination of seniors Niko Foltys and Max (Pancake) Pancoska sure sounded good for Lockport's football team. The duo came through in a big way to score on a pair of blocked punts as the Porters pulled away to defeat Joliet Township 41-6 in a SouthWest Suburban Blue matchup Saturday afternoon at Joliet West.
The Steelmen seniors were honored before the game in what was the final home football game as Joliet Township. Next year Joliet Central and West will both field varsity football teams.
The victory clinched a playoff berth for the Porters (6-2, 4-2), which is their first since 2006. JT dropped its 13th straight game and fell to 0-8, 0-6.
It was special teams play that sparked Lockport. The Porters had taken a 7-0 lead when junior running back Dan "The Tank" Holman made a nice move at the line of scrimmage, stepped back a couple yards and then rumbled down the left sideline and dove to the left pylon for a 25-yard touchdown run with 32.8 seconds left in the first quarter.
However the Steelmen had forced Lockport to punt on three of its first four possessions, including the first two. But the JT offense could never get moving either and was forced to punt on a fourth-and-one from its own 12.
That's when Pancoska pounced in and blocked Steelmen senior Tyler Kelly's kick. The ball fell dead in the end zone and Foltys fell on it for a touchdown. In other words, it was Niko and The Man.
"I was just in the right place at the right time," said Foltys, a defensive, who was in on numerous tackles in the first half. "We just know we have to play well at this time of year."
"I just saw an opening and ran in and dove," said Pancoska, a defensive back who came up huge by forcing an incomplete pass on a two-point conversion attempt in overtime of Lockport's 37-36 win over Richards in Week 2. "We had got off to a slow start and we didn't want to do that.
"I just felt like we needed to make a big play, I didn't want to keep them (JT) in the game."
The Steelmen turned the tables with a special teams play of their own immediately afterward as junior defensive back George Perez broke through to block the extra point kick, leaving Lockport's lead at 13-0 with 3:24 left in the first half.
An interception by junior defensive back Kevin Fisch gave the Porters the ball back at the JT 45. Lockport drove to the JT 8 and then had a fourth-and-goal at the 10. The Porters went for a field goal and JT came up big again on special teams too as Perez pounded back junior kicker Mitch Zeiler's 27-yard attempt.
The ball was blocked so hard that it bounced back to about the JT 30. That's where senior linebacker Davell Mercer picked it up and ran 70 yards for a touchdown. The happy Steelmen were penalized after the play and had to attempt a 35-yard extra point kick. Kelly's kick hit the top of the crossbar and fell out, keeping the score at 13-6 with 18.8 seconds left in the half and that held up at halftime.
"The kids came out well and we played with emotion," JT coach Jason Aubry said. "That's why we were able to do some good things in the first half. We came out and played hard."
But Lockport tweaked some things at halftime and its offense started moving in the second half. A 23-yard pass from senior quarterback Kyle Billig to Holman on fourth-and-12 capped a seven play, 89 yard drive that opened the third quarter and put the Porters ahead 20-6.
Holman, who finished with 16 carries for 156 yards, rounded out a three touchdown day on a one-yard plunge with 1:13 left in the third quarter for a 27-6 lead. Billig was 7-of-15 passing for 107 yards and added 82 rushing.
Then Pancoska pounced again. This time he not only blocked a Kelly punt, he also fell on it in the end zone to give Lockport a 34-6 advantage with 11:04 to play in the game.
"That was big and Max has made big plays for us," Lockport coach Bret Kooi said. "He's worked hard and earned every minute of it."
"We tried some different things," Aubry said. "But those blocked punts will just take the wind right out of your sails."
Senior running back Ryan Hernandez (7 carries, 38 yards) rounded out the scoring by recovering his own fumble in the end zone after a three-yard run for a touchdown with 3:03 remaining.
"We didn't execute early and the kids were disappointed at halftime," Kooi said. "I just told them the first half was done, we needed to execute and when we do we can score points."
The Porters had 251 of their 432 yards on offense in the second half. The Lockport defense, led by Foltys, senior defensive lineman Adam Kendall, junior linebacker Matt Skrzypiec and senior linebacker Joe Zander, held the Steelmen to 49 total yards -- including none passing and 18 yards in the second half.
The leading ground-gainer for the Steelmen was junior quarterback Malcolm Allen, who came in for the second half and finished with 4 carries for 21 yards.
Despite the outcome Kooi knows there's always a rivalry with JT, because he's been on both sides of it. He was head football coach at Joliet West from 1989-1991, going 11-16 there.
"I told the kids to remember the rivalry between us and JT," said Kooi, who is now 101-61 in his 16th year at Lockport. "They gave us a game last year (14-7 Porter victory) and that rivalry transcends the records."
"It's a great rivalry between us, especially with Bret being at Lockport," Aubry said. "A lot of the kids know each other and it's a natural rivalry with them being just down the road. Plus I have nothing but respect for Bret."
JT will finish off the season by traveling to Homewood-Flossmoor for a meeting of winless teams this Friday at 7:30. The Porters will host Sandburg Friday at 7:30 in what is always an old fashioned SWSC battle.
"When we play to out potential we know we can be real good," Foltys said. "Now we want to get a home playoff game, that's what we're playing for."
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