Ground Game Leads Yorkville to Victory

The colors on the jerseys may be different, but the results were eerily similar.

Longtime Oswego football coach Karl Hoinkes led a Yorkville team to the field for the first time Friday night, but he brought his old philosophy with him: The tailback is going to carry the ball and the defense is going to be strong. That formula led Hoinkes to 190 wins in the Oswego blue and orange, and he got his first win, 21-12 over Streator, with the red, white and black of Yorkville in the exact same manner.

Neill O'Brien carried 26 times for 181 yards and two touchdowns, and the Yorkville defense scored on the third play from scrimmage as the Foxes beat Streator 21-12.

Brandon Mispagel pounced on a fumble in the end zone after Bobby Schillinger knocked the ball free. Just a minute and a half into the season, the young Foxes owned both a 7-0 lead and a confidence boost. O'Brien scored on runs of five and 49 yards in the first quarter and the Yorkville defense held Streator scoreless through three quarters en route to Hoinkes' 191st career win.

"My tailback is going to get the ball," Hoinkes said. "O'Brien ran hard and I am sure he is going to be sore tomorrow. I think he knew what he was getting into when he wanted to be a tailback. If he didn't, he does now."

Streator received the opening kickoff and started on its own 21. On first down, Dan Scott stopped quarterback Zach Cinnamon for no gain. Scott and Schillinger combined to knock Mike Knox back three yards. Knox got the ball again on third down, and Schillinger stripped the ball from him behind the line. It bounced backward into the end zone, where Mispagel fell on it for a touchdown.

"We are as green as the grass," Hoinkes said. "We only have three players who had any varsity experience before tonight. To get a touchdown before the offense even touched the ball was a big boost for us."

The Yorkville defense forced a punt and, after Ilir Emini returned it 21 yards to the Streator 29, O’Brien scored from five yards out behind blocks from Scott and Matt Pansera. Late in the first quarter, Yorkville took over at its own 46, the first time the ball had been in the Foxes’ territory all game. After an encroachment penalty, O’Brien started to the right, then cut back against the grain to the left, outrunning the Streator defense for a 49-yard score.

“We started well, but we shot ourselves in the foot a few times,” Hoinkes said. “We definitely have some things we can clean up. It’s nice to start with a win, but the big challenge is to improve from Week 1 to Week 2. That starts Monday.”