Secret weapon fuels West football

With a record of 3-4, the Joliet West Tigers football team’s destiny was waiting to be written. Photo courtesy of 8to18.com.

With a record of 3-4, the Joliet West Tigers football team’s destiny was waiting to be written. Photo courtesy of 8to18.com.

Breven Daugherity, Assistant Sports Editor

With a record of 3-4, the Joliet West Tigers football team’s destiny was waiting to be written. With two games remaining, the Tigers need to win out the rest of the season in order to put themselves into a safe position to reach their second straight playoff. The first of these two games, which was held on October 16th, 2015, had an extra meaning to it as it was their second and final Friday night home game, and for the seniors, likely their last game ever at Klootwyk Stadium. With the stakes so high, it can be very hard for a team to head into a game and maintain the usual focus. On top of the Tigers starting this game trailing 21-0, it would seem nearly impossible to keep the focus, but not on this night. Coach Aubry used a secret trick of his own to give his team what they needed. “Halftime, we talked about drawing the line. We have to draw a line, and push ourselves past it.” The secret weapon, inspired by “The Lone Survivor,” a movie about Marcus Luttrell, a sniper who has to push his injured self past his own drawn lines for 7 miles in order to stay alive and return home. Aubry’s tactic sparked a fight in the team, as they pushed themselves to erase the 21-0 deficit, then come back and win in overtime. “Luttrell decided he was sick of feeling sorry for himself, so he dragged himself, and that’s exactly what the boys did,” Aubry stated. This sparked the team, and that spark was especially seen in senior running back Jakob Coyl. Coyl scored all 4 touchdowns with 171 rushing yards. It was a special night for the senior, and his team used his momentum to secure the must win game. “He turned it up in practice, and we told him we needed it on Friday night. We needed a senior stepping up,” said Aubry. Along with Coyl’s leadership, it was a freshman who showed some of his own. Freshman quarterback Jaxon Aubry came back from his two first half turnovers to lead the Tigers game tying and winning drives, including a huge 68 yard pass to senior Makaveli Smith which set up a 2-yard touchdown run by Coyl that tied the game. After tying the game and heading into overtime, the Tigers took a 28-21 lead after another score by Coyl and an extra point from James Newby. Stagg struck back with their own touchdown making it 28-27, then opted to go for two and the win. With the Wild West on their feet, the defense did not allow Stagg quarterback Jon Van Nieuwenhuyse to reach the end zone on a wildcat, giving the Tigers a 28-27 win. This appropriately ended the Dark Side Defense’s night, who did not miss a beat after going down 21-0. “The defense set up the offense, and that’s when the offense started playing well,” Aubry indicated. The Tigers playoff dream relies on the outcome of the week 9 game at Lockport, which will decide whether they make a second straight playoff appearance.