Raiders rout Porters in 8A opener

The Bolingbrook Raiders defeated the Lockport Porters 38-14 on Friday night in the first round of the Class 8A playoffs. The victory marked the ninth consecutive win for Bolingbrook, which improved its season record to 9-1. Lockport finished its campaign with a 6-5 record after starting the season 0-3.

The Raiders built their momentum from a painful Week 1 loss to Homewood-Flossmoor. Coach Titcus Pettigrew stated that the foundation of the program was built around a strong defense to give the offense time to develop. Prescott, a defensive end and Notre Dame commit, noted that the team learned to be confident rather than cocky after that early setback.

Bolingbrook struck quickly on the opening drive. Following a forced fumble, running back TJ Lewis broke free for a 34-yard touchdown run. Lockport responded with an aerial drive capped by a catch from Jaxson Little. Bolingbrook countered immediately. Lewis rushed for six yards to end the first quarter, extending the Raiders' lead.

The defense maintained constant pressure on Lockport quarterback Griffin Russell. In one instance, Russell threw an errant pass that Kenyon Rodgers intercepted and returned 31 yards for a touchdown. The score gave Bolingbrook a 21-7 lead. Shortly after, two long runs by Lewis set up a 31-yard field goal, pushing the advantage to 24-7 before halftime.

Lockport drove the length of the field in the first half but lost ground due to a false start penalty. A final pass play fell just short of the end zone as time expired. Bolingbrook scored twice in the third quarter. Lewis ran for another touchdown from 24 yards out, and the Raiders added one more score to put the game out of reach.

Lewis finished the game with 183 rushing yards. Pettigrew credited the healthy offensive line and complementary passing game for the performance. Lockport coach George Czart admitted the team played sloppily at the start. He noted that falling behind early against Bolingbrook was a difficult position to recover from.

The Raiders will face Lyons next in the playoffs. Lyons defeated Perspectives Leadership 55-14 in their first-round matchup. The specific time and date for the Bolingbrook versus Lyons contest have not been announced.