Ridge Road Rivalry: Minooka Takes Out Plainfield South

There wasn’t a celebration on the field or any street signs stolen on Ridge Road.

Instead, there was a quiet confidence that came over Minooka
High School after its 23-7 Southwest Prairie Conference win over Plainfield South on Friday in Minooka.

It was the third installment of the Ridge Road Rivalry as both schools are located on the north-south, Kendall County thoroughfare.

The teams split last year’s meetings, South winning the regular season game and Minooka returning the favor in the second round of the Class 7A playoffs. Both games were at Plainfield South.

“No street signs this year,” Minooka senior running back Kalvin Hill said. “We’re just going to celebrate this win tonight and start getting ready for Oswego East next week, tomorrow.”

Minooka’s offense set the tone in the first half, then its defense took it from there as the Indians ran their marks to 3-2 overall and 3-0 in the SPC. Plainfield South fell to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the league.

“This was a real nice win for our football program,” Minooka coach Bert Kooi said. “It’s a tribute to the kids to execute the game plan we put together tonight.”

“They are a very good football team,” Plainfield South coach Ken Bublitz said. “They lost their first two games and have reeled off three games in a row. You have to give them credit.”

The game featured near flawless execution by Minooka on both sides of the ball and missed opportunities by Plainfield South.

Plainfield South forged inside the Minooka 25-yard line four times, coming away with just seven points. Its first three trips ended with an interception, fumble and a turnover on downs during the final minute of the first half.

By that time, Hill’s three touchdown runs of 18, 33 and five yards staked the hosts a 23-0 lead.

“They executed their game plan tonight,” Bublitz said. “Combine that with missed opportunities on our part … Against anybody, that can’t happen. When you get close, you have to come away with points. Not being able to do that was huge.”

“We scored points right away,” Hill said. “Our offensive line blocked great today. We did great in the first half today, scoring 23 points.”

Two of those touchdowns were set up by turnovers. Minooka senior defensive back Lucas Carey had an interception that led to a score and two fumble recoveries.

“I had the running back to cover and he pass-blocked,” Carey
said of his interception at the Minooka 2 on what could have been the game-tying drive by the Cougars. “I dropped back and helped out with coverage. Luckily, I was in the right place at the right time.”