JT giveaways send 'Brook off to races

Bolingbrook's Jamel Martin runs through the Joliet Township defense to score a touchdown in a South Suburban Blue Conference at Joliet Friday night.

(JOHN PATSCH/STAFF PHOTOGRAPHER)

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JOLIET -- In order of merit, the homecoming success story ranked third.

Shadonta Travis was congratulated by some of his old teammates and few of his old coaches after leading the Bolingbrook High School football team to a 44-8 victory over Joliet Township on Friday night at Klootwyk Field.

He completed 9-of-15 passes for 94 yards and scored twice on first-half half runs. Then, after leading one more scoring drive in the third quarter, he took a seat on the bench.

Travis, the senior quarterback who transferred to Bolingbrook after starting for two years at JT, looked on as the rest of the Raiders enjoyed some time in the spotlight.

Two backup running backs rushed for more than 100 yards -- John Seigler and Jamel Martin. The two moved to the forefront because Wisconsin recruit and first-string tailback Erik Smith was sidelined. He had his wisdom teeth removed earlier in the week and also was suffering from flu-like symptoms.

The Raiders (6-2, 5-1) moved into sole possession of first place in the SouthWest Suburban Blue after scoring on five straight possessions and taking advantage of four first-quarter turnovers by JT. Michael Hillman, Marcus Lee and Alex McNulty recovered fumbles during the Steelmen meltdown. Seigler deflected a pass thrown by JT junior Justin Stephenson and Bolingbrook's Corve Smith came away with a nifty interception.

"You can't move the ball when you're putting the ball on the ground, and the other team is getting it," JT coach Jason Aubry said. "That's obvious. Now, when we did get the ball at the end of the half and drove it down the field, we did some good things. And I think we could have done that more if we would have held onto the ball."

JT (0-8, 0-5) scored on a 9-yard pass from Stephenson to Jonathan Sain with 14.8 seconds left in the second quarter. Dustin Vandermeir's pass to Ricky Highland was good for the two-point conversion.

By then, Bolingbrook was well on its way to its fifth win in six weeks.

The Raiders built a 30-0 lead on scoring runs by Martin (8 yards), Kwame Harris (3 yards), Travis (11, 4 yards) and a 41-yard field goal by John Hyerdall.

"Yeah, it was like a common experience," Travis said of returning to JT. "We just came out and played hard today. Give credit to the boys. They did a pretty good job. These backs -- they're up-and-coming. My game was not all the way on -- it was so-so. But, still, we all came out and played hard and came away with the victory."

"You're right, it was a big day for Shadonta (Travis)," Bolingbrook coach John Ivlow said. "He was kind of fired up about coming back. Like I said, he has no ill will or ill feelings toward anybody over here. These are all of his friends, as you could see after the game. Everybody was hugging him and congratulating him, stuff like that.

"But, again, I'm just happy he's with us."

Ivlow also was happy to have a show of depth in the backfield.

Seigler rushed for 127 yards on 18 carries. He scored on an 8-yard run. Martin, a sophomore is the heir apparent to Bolingbrook's tailback throne, tacked on 119 yards on nine carries. He scored his second touchdown on a 19-yard run in the third quarter.

And three Raider quarterbacks worked behind Travis -- Josh Streaker, Malcolm Jackson and Barry Wolff.

"Dale Martin was out last year, and John (Seigler) actually started against these guys last year and had about 120 on them, I think," Ivlow said. "He's a capable kid. Jamel's a capable kid. It's just when you've got a guy like Erik (Smith), too -- I know he's sitting here crying because he needed 150 to get to 1,000 this year.

"He sees these other guys get a hundred, and he's probably thinking, 'Why not me?' But, no, he knows the big picture. Not only that, he's been ill. He had a fever, some kind of virus. So, we figured, 'What the (heck), pull the teeth, too, Ma. Get it all done in one week. Give him back to us next week.'

"He could have played. But we just didn't think it was necessary."

Bolingbrook limited JT to five first downs -- one in the second half -- and 81 yards total offense. Stephenson was hurried into a 7-for-22 passing performance for 60 yards. His stats took a hit because JT's receivers had trouble holding onto the ball, too.

"We've been there," Ivlow said of JT's drops. "It's happened to us before. And you don't have answers. They hurt themselves with that stuff. And lucky for us. I don't think it should have been a 44-8 game. Take away some turnovers and it's probably more like a 30-14 game. They've got some nice kids. They do a lot of nice things.

"It's just a matter of putting it all together. And I know coach Aubry will get it right."

The JT coach worked with Travis when he played for the Steelmen.

"I'm glad for the kid," Aubry said. "I'm glad he's experiencing some success."