Plainfield North Can't Hold Off Southwest Prairie Conference Top Dog, Minooka

It looked like another short gain for Minooka’s Kalvin Hill midway through the second quarter of their Southwest Prairie Conference football game Friday in Minooka.

However, Hill put his hand down, stayed on his feet and rambled 68 yards for a score.

It not only cut the Tigers lead to 21-14, but gave the Indians a shot of confidence it turned into a 28-21 homecoming victory.

The win puts Minooka at 5-2 overall and 5-0 in the SPC. Plainfield North fell to 3-4, 2-3.

“I just kept my feet going,” said Hill, who rushed for 210 yards on 17 carries and two touchdowns. “I put my hand down, kept running and got the touchdown.”

“He put his hand on the ground and turned nothing into something,” Minooka coach Bert Kooi said. “He has those three or four plays a game when you say, ‘How the heck did he do that.’ I’m glad he’s on our side.”
Jay Roberts’ 2-yard run gave the Tigers a 7-0 lead with 1:13 left in the first quarter.

Minooka tied it when quarterback Joe Carnagio found Luke Stovall for a 28-yard touchdown pass.

Plainfield North ripped off 14 unanswered points to stun the homecoming crowd.

Kurt Palandech ran 5 yards for a score and hit Quest Young (11 catches, 148 yards) for a 17-yard touchdown that gave the visitors a 21-7 lead with 4:50 left in the second quarter.

Hill’s run sparked the Indians, who have won five straight games after starting the year 0-2.

“I trusted my team and I wasn’t that worried,” McGuire said of the 21-7 deficit.

“That play was a big momentum changer,” said Hill, who has rushed for more than 1,200 yards this season. “After halftime, the whole tone of the game changed.”

Trailing 21-14 at the half, Hill’s second touchdown run of the game, from 16 yards out, tied it at 21-all with 8:42 to play in the third quarter.

Later in the quarter, Jake Petrovic stripped Plainfield North quarterback Kurt Palandech and Jake Residori recovered it at the Tiger 44. Three plays later, Nate McGuire went 26 yards to give the Indians their first lead.

“I saw a hole and did whatever I could to get in (the end zone),” McGuire said. “I saw my O-linemen blocking guys, I cut in and ran it in.”

Luke Perry broke up a pass play intended for Young at midfield to end the Tigers’ final drive and any hopes of an upset.

“Our defense stopped them and played phenomenal tonight in the second half,” Hill said.

Palandech completed 20 of 34 passes for 272 yards and ran 16 times for 60 yards.

“We had to make some adjustments and figure out how to stop the Palandech kid,” Kooi said. “It took us a while to figure it out and once we did, we slowed them down considerably. Our kids figured it out. Our kids are smart, experienced and that’s the benefit of having a senior-dominated team.”

“We’re not here to lose close games. We’re here to win,” Plainfield North coach Tim Kane said. “We’re not proud losing by seven points. But, we came out and battled this week. How they played the game is what I liked to see.”

Plainfield North outgained Minooka 383-348, but turned the ball over twice.