Sports
Football: Eisenhower Holds off Oak Lawn Rally
Eisenhower 35, Oak Lawn 20: Spartans fall behind early and can't complete comeback despite pitch-and-catch work of Bob Olsen and Dan Townsend.
Breaking It Down: A sloppy game that looked like it was going to be a blowout late in the first half ended up being entertaining in the second half. Eisenhower held off Oak Lawn in a 35-20 victory in South Suburban Red play on Friday night.
A game filled with numerous personal fouls by both teams saw the Cardinals jump out to a 21-0 halftime lead. Eisenhower quarterback Justin Geiter ran for a first-quarter touchdown, and the Cardinals tacked on two more scores in the second quarter. Geiter connected on a 25-yard touchdown pass to Ben Bouie, then a 65-yarder to Leo Okeke.
The Spartans had the ball to start the second half and took just two minutes to score. Oak Lawn running back Sean Hayden scored from 31 yards out. However, the Cardinals came right back as Okeke had another long touchdown run, this time from 29 yards to make it 28-6.
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The Spartans made it interesting thanks to the outstanding connection from the tandem of quarterback Bob Olsen and wideout Dan Townsend. The two teamed up on the final two touchdowns for the Spartans, first on a 28-yard pass in the third quarter and later on 30-yard pass in the fourth quarter.
Oak Lawn got the ball back on an on-side kick, but for the fourth time in the game the Spartans' center snapped the ball high to Olsen and the botched snap thwarted their last-ditch attempt to pull out a comeback victory.
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Patch’s MVP: Leo Okeke, Eisenhower. Okeke had two long touchdown runs that dampened Oak Lawn's spirits. His first scoring run, from 65 yards, came late in the first half to give the Cardinals a 21-0 lead. His second helped the Eisenhower respond to an early second-half score by the Spartans.
Eisenhower Stat Pack: Quarterback Justin Geiter was 7-for-13 for 104 yards and a touchdown. Geiter also had seven rushes for 37 yards and two touchdowns on the ground. Leo Okeke had 15 rushes for 134 yards and two touchdowns.
Oak Lawn Stat Pack: Quarterback Bob Olsen was 13-for-27 for 197 yards and threw two touchdowns to wideout Dan Townsend. Townsend had eight catches for 134 yards. Running back Sean Hayden rushed the ball 16 times for 66 yards and a touchdown.
Quotable I: “All of our games have been close so far this season,” Oak Lawn coach Sean Lucas said. “We have a lot of stuff to work on.”
Quotable II: “Every game this year we have had the momentum toward the end,” Lucas said. “We either carry the momentum to victory or we come out on the bottom.”
Team Records: Eisenhower improves to 3-1 and 2-0 in the South Suburban Red, while Oak Lawn falls to 2-2 and 1-1 in the South Suburban Red.
What’s Next: Both teams are in action again at 7 p.m. next Friday. Oak Lawn travels to Country Club Hills to take on Hillcrest, while Eisenhower plays host to Argo.
Scores of Interest: Rich South 28, Kankakee 0; Richards 24, Shepard 19; Lemont 30, T.F. South 30. For more scores, visit IHSA ScoreZone.
