One Play Propels Plainfield South

One play does not make a game.

However, one play turned the Southwest Prairie Conference football opener between Plainfield South and Oswego East on its ear Friday night.

With Oswego East trailing 20-7 and driving for a touchdown, Plainfield South's Darrell Collins stepped in front of a pass, intercepted it and weaved his way for a 100-yard touchdown return that gave the Cougars a 27-7 halftime lead.

Plainfield South cruised from there to post a 47-14 victory to move its record to 3-0. The Cougars are 1-0 in the SPC. Oswego East fell to 1-2, 0-1.

"I cheated on that play," Collins said of the longest touchdown return in District 202 history. "I saw the quarterback looking that way. If he would have thrown the ball behind me, they probably would have scored. I'm glad I made a play for my team because we needed it. It came at a big time."

After Oswego East took a 7-0 lead, Sheldon Magee ran 29 yards for a touchdown. Greg Wos' kick tied the game with 1:26 left in the first quarter.

Austin Howarth's 4-yard touchdown run gave Plainfield South the lead for good at 14-7. Alex Flores caught a slant pass from Magee and raced 74 yards to give the Cougars a 20-7 lead.

Collins' interception pushed the lead to 27-7 at the half and sent Oswego East reeling.

Twins Sheldon and John Magee along with Howarth all saw action at quarterback.

John Magee led the Cougars with 138 rush yards on 13 carries. He scored on runs of 1 and 14 yards. Sheldon Magee's second touchdown toss of the night went for 18 yards to Dantrell Wright midway through the third quarter.

A running clock was in effect the entire fourth quarter.

"It's pretty faced paced," John Magee said of the Cougars' spread offense. "They are all good football players. And, our (offensive) line did a great job blocking for me tonight."

"You really have to prepare for all these guys and where they are at," Planfield South coach Mike Briscoe said. "We've got speed everywhere and we didn't get the ball to some other guys who can make some plays. It's a hard thing to defend and that's why we went to this system. That's what suits our kids."

Howarth completed 8-of-8 passes for 86 yards and an interception. Sheldon Magee went 4-of-8 for 102 yards, two touchdowns and a pick. Flores caught three passes for 114 yards and a score.

"In the second half, we got our stuff together and came out with the win," Magee said. "We just have to work as a team and everything will be OK. We need everybody on the field at the same time."

"We want to get the ball to our athletes and let them run," Briscoe said. "We're putting points on the board. But we need to shape up as a group. We are playing like a bunch of individuals. We need to play like a team. That's up to the kids. They have to decide if they want to be a team. Hopefully, they make that decision."