Plainfield South vs. Minooka: Ridge Road Rivalry Part II

Although it's in its infancy, the Ridge Road Rivalry has taken off.

Plainfield South earned bragging rights and ownership of the street sign by posting a 41-31 victory over Minooka a month ago in Plainfield.

Now, Minooka wants revenge and the sign back.

The Indians (9-1) will get their chance during a Class 7A second-round matchup against the Cougars (9-1) at 6 p.m. Saturday at Plainfield South.

"There are a lot of things that go into this game and there always is when Plainfield South and Minooka play," Minooka coach Bert Kooi said. "It's a rivalry game to begin with, it's a conference game and it's the Ridge Road Rivalry. It'll be a great high school football game."

"Right now it's up in the air, it's anyone's game and we'll see what happens," Plainfield South coach Mike Briscoe said.

"They won the battle of Ridge Road the first time," Minooka senior running back Kalvin Hill said. "Hopefully, we can get them back. We want to go farther in the playoffs and get that state championship. We're going to show Plainfield South what we're all about."

"It's going to be a hard-nosed football game," Plainfield South senior defensive back/kick returner Darrell Collins said. "I know they want to beat us bad because we beat them during the season."

"It's not easy to explain the emotions going through our heads," Minooka quarterback Mitch Brozovich said. "We're excited. We want revenge on them. They are our only loss of the year so far. We want to get them back."

"We want our sign back," Minooka junior lineman Alex Hamilton said.

Both schools are located just off Ridge Road, which runs north and south and connects Minooka to the south with the far western parts of Joliet and Plainfield to the north.

And both schools are confident they can advance to the Class 7A quarterfinals to face either Belleville East (8-2) or Belleville West. Belleville West was granted a return to playoff field after East Louis Louis was ousted Thursday in a court proceeding for using an ineligible player.

"We know their game plan and we know what they do," Minooka junior linebacker Jake Residori said. "Now, we get a second opportunity to beat a team that beat us during the season. You can't ask for anything better."

An added dimension is that Briscoe coached at Minooka for seven seasons before coming to South. The last time the Indians advanced to the quarterfinal round of the playoffs was in 2003 with Briscoe as their coach.

He is 81-49 overall and is in his sixth season with the Cougars, who have never won a second-round playoff game.

"Our kids didn't forget losing that one over there," said Kooi, 39-45 in nine years of coaching, the last seven at Minooka. "They'll be ready."

"It's going to be exciting playing them a second time," South quarterback Sheldon Magee said. "We just want to come out with the victory."

To do that, the Cougars will have to improve defensively against the three-pronged running attack of Brozovich and running backs Hill and Kyle Banks. They have combined to run for more than 2,700 yards and 39 touchdowns.

"I worry defensively if we can stop Banks, Brozovich and Hill," Briscoe said. "And, their fullback (Taylor Salazar) is no slouch. We'll have our hands full defensively."

The same can be said of Minooka's defense against the Cougars' high-powered spread offense, which is loaded with speed and quickness.

Plainfield South is averaging 46.6 points, but scored just 35 in the regular-season finale against Plainfield North and 34 in the first round of the playoffs last week against Bradley.

"Of course, you want to score more points," Briscoe said. "But we're still putting up 35 points per game. We're not scoring 50, but 35 should be good enough to win."

Plainfield South's offense will look a little different with the return of Dondre Adams to the lineup. The senior running back has been limited to defense because of hip and knee injuries this year.

Despite sitting out nearly half the season, Adams has rushed for a team-leading 773 yards on 57 carries. He has scored nine touchdowns. He will see action in the defensive backfield, as well.

"Their defense is big and they can hit," Magee said. "We're going to try and beat them with our speed."

Magee is turning into the focal point of Plainfield South's attack. The 6-foot senior has rushed for 605 yards and a team-high 12 touchdowns. He is just as effective throwing the ball, completing 51-of-90 passes for 857 yards, 15 touchdowns and just one interception.

If Magee is not under center, he could be in the backfield or at wide receiver. That's when 6-foot-2, 215-pound junior Austin Howarth is at the controls. More of a pocket passer, Howarth has thrown for 1,100 yards, 14 touchdowns and three interceptions.

Along with Magee and Adams in the backfield is John Magee, Sheldon's twin. The senior has rushed for 613 yards and 10 touchdowns in 10 games.

The Cougars' top receives are junior Dantrell Wright (47 catches, 734 yards, 13 touchdowns) and senior Alex Flores (20 catches, 557 yards, nine touchdowns).

"I think we'll rise to the occasion this week," Sheldon Magee said. "I think our offense will be back on top this week. Whoever makes the least amount of mistakes will come out with the victory."