Junior linebacker Kynnedi Alawode and her Oak Park and River Forest flag football teammates have confidence going into the postseason, thanks to their 18-7 victory, Sept. 15, over defending state champion Maine South.
“I feel like that time we focused on being disciplined,” Alawode said. “(We were) being disciplined in all of the little things and not trying to make big plays but just knowing what you have to do and holding it down and also just trusting each other. When one of us goes to rush or something, you know the person behind you has your back.”
Now what the Huskies need is some slight adjustments and to get healthier.
They hoped to be the undefeated and outright West Suburban Conference Silver Division champions but they lost at home to Lyons Township 33-13 Thursday in the league finale to share the title with the Lions at 5-1.
OPRF (10-5) led 13-7 at halftime after a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Ionna Griffin to Penny Morton with just eight seconds left in the second quarter. Griffin and Anna Dore platooned at quarterback.
Then the Lions (10-2) scored 26 unanswered points in the second half. With the help of multiple rushers, they recorded five sacks and two interceptions over the final 24 minutes.
“Word is out. We cannot beat two rushers,” OPRF coach Jim Geovanes said. “It showed a couple of weeks ago. It’s on film and now everyone has it. We’ve got to re-adjust next week and game plan how we’re going to beat that defense.”
The Huskies started strong as usual with an 86-yard TD drive as quarterback Griffin scored on a 21-yard run on fourth-and-1 in which she maneuvered between and around four tacklers. On fourth-and-3 earlier in the drive, quarterback Dore threw a lateral to Griffin, whose 6-yard pass to Lucy Avrut advanced the ball to the 37.
The Lions had the ball first in the third quarter and scored to take the lead. Right after a 25-yard completion, Taylor Hoffenberg’s dramatic 44-yard TD from a 1-yard slant pass and the extra-point conversion pass put LT ahead 14-13 and started the momentum shift.
“Their second-half adjustments really changed the whole thing,” Geovanes said. “They put a lot of pressure on us. We couldn’t hit our outsides. They played five across the middle. We’re built for a quick game and they took it away. They made adjustments and we didn’t.”
After the Lions’ go-ahead TD, Alawode agreed the momentum began to change.
In the first half, the Huskies’ defense included Kailee Robinson recording a sack and Jenna Waisvisz and Alawode pulling flags for loss and Maya Davis and Alessandra Gerut breaking up passes. OPRF had one pull for loss in the second half.
“I feel like (at times) we’re missing chemistry to make it a well-oiled machine. We need to continue to have that drive when we are down,” Alawode said.
“Sometimes when there’s a bunch of missed tackles or an interception, we all kind of get down. I definitely feel we need to show our love for each other a little bit more and then that will show on the field as well.”
The Huskies can do just that as the No. 2 seed in the OPRF Sectional behind Kenwood.
Junior standout running back Nora Partin, who has been out three weeks with a knee injury, and multiple linebackers should be back for the postseason. OPRF also gets time off from game action before playing in the OPRF Regional semifinals, Oct. 5.
“Our big picture right now is making a good playoff run so our Silver lining is we came out of the (LT) thing pretty healthy,” Geovanes said. “The week off will get us healthy for a good playoff run.”