Plainfield South Overcomes Its Own Miscues

Sheldon Magee accounted for three touchdowns three different ways for the second week in a row. Dondre Adams turned a near disaster into a thing of beauty.

And, yet, the question of how good Plainfield South is remains up for discussion following the Cougars' 41-0 football victory over neighborhood rival Joliet West on Friday night.

South (2-0) had two first-half touchdowns called back because of penalties, one following a blocked punt and 45-yard return by Darrell Collins. Adams fumbled on South's first play from scrimmage. West (0-2) controlled the ball for nearly seven minutes straight at the outset of the first quarter.

And, then, there were a number of other flaws that disturbed South coach Mike Briscoe, namely penalties (eight for 79 yards) and alignment mistakes on defense.

"It wasn't our best performance," Briscoe said. "We made a lot of mistakes early on. This thing should have been 40-0 at halftime. But we shot ourselves in the foot with penalties and just not executing.

"We had some dropped balls. And, defensively, we weren't lining up right. Lucky enough for us, they ran right into our bad alignments. We've got to clean that up. If we don't, we could be in trouble next week (against Oswego East)."

Magee, a 6-foot, 171-pound senior quarterback and wide receiver, scored on a 13-yard touchdown pass from Austin Howarth. And that was just the start of another big night for Magee.

He hooked up with his twin brother John on a 16-yard scoring pass in the second quarter. Then, in the third, Sheldon darted 20 yards for the touchdown that put the clock in motion.

The irony is, it was the play Magee didn't score on that had everyone buzzing afterward.

Early on, South faced a fourth-and-2 on its own 23. Adams, in punt formation, scrambled to field a low snap. He circled right and fired a dart to Magee, who flashed his sprinter's speed on a 64-yard gainer that ended badly.

Just when it looked like Magee would go all the way, his brother tripped him up. Yep, John Magee was racing downfield in a bid to spring Sheldon with the last block.

"It was a punt; I just go up there to block," Sheldon Magee said. "But it was a bad snap and a heads-up play. I just ran to the flat and Dondre (Adams) hit me in the flat. I ran down the field. My twin brother tripped me. But it's all fun and games. No big deal."

Sheldon Magee finished with 120 yards total offense. Adams led all rushers with 94 yards on 16 carries. He scored two touchdowns — both on 1-yard runs. Howarth ran for one touchdown and passed for another, his 13-yarder to Magee following Jacob Meeder's fumble recovery. Meeder reacted with the ball bounding to the ground on a forward pass vs. lateral situation.

"What I'm seeing is we are taught every time the ball is on the ground, we go after it," Meeder said. "We get it. I just wish I would have scooped and scored."