When the play was called in the huddle, Lincoln-Way East’s Mason Pierre-Antoine had a good feeling it was going to produce some fireworks.
“We had run through it 1,000 times in practice,” Pierre-Antoine said. “I knew our quarterback (Ty Slater) would stay calm and get me the ball.”
Slater got the ball to Pierre-Antoine all right — and without a Homewood-Flossmoor defender within 10 yards of the streaking junior wide receiver.
The result was a tiebreaking, momentum-changing 43-yard touchdown reception Saturday that lifted the host Griffins to a 28-14 SouthWest Suburban Blue victory.
The double-fake, play-action TD toss broke a 14-14 tie with 16.5 seconds remaining in the first half. Not only did the score give East (5-0, 2-0) the lead, it provided a major boost.
“It was huge,” East coach Rob Zvonar said. “It felt a lot better to be up 21-14 and having some momentum.”
Zvonar mentioned how the 6-foot-2, 175-pound Pierre-Antoine was more than ready to make the big catch against H-F (4-1, 1-1).
“Mason told us (coaching staff) on Friday that he caught 100 extra balls after practice,” Zvonar said. “It’s nice to see it pay off.”
Zvonar credited offensive coordinator Joel Pallissard with an outstanding call on the play.
“Joel looked at me and said ‘Z, this should be a touchdown,'” Zvonar recalled. “I just watched and saw (No.) 13 (Pierre-Antoine) running down the field alone.”
Pierre-Antoine confirmed it takes a little more concentration when you’re that wide open.
“It does get to you,” he said. “You have to make sure to look the ball into your hands and everything else will be good.”
AJ Henning, a senior all-purpose star, also was pretty good for East. The Michigan recruit totaled 140 yards and three TDs on 17 carries.
Devon Williams added 73 yards on 13 carries and Jamal Johnson added 55 yards on 13 carries.
The 5-10, 180-pound Henning scored on runs of 55, 6 and 4 yards. He also added a 70-yard punt return that set up his 6-yard TD, giving the Griffins a 13-6 lead.
Henning lined up at receiver and running back and took snaps from the Wildcat formation. The one common factor was, no matter where he lined up, he was the best player on the field.
“I’ll play wherever coach wants me to,” Henning said. “We have so many playmakers. Showing different looks confuses the defense.”
H-F coach Craig Buzea said keeping an eye on where Henning’s at on the field can be a chore.
“That makes a big difference,” he said. “It’s not on film. We knew it would happen him playing QB. But he’s one of the best players in America. They get more from him.”
The Vikings used a 17-play, 90-yard scoring drive to open the game, eating 8:06 off the clock before quarterback Dominick Jones scored on a 1-yard run.
Running back Sean Allen rushed for 142 yards, including a 55-yard TD in the second quarter that forced a 14-14 tie.
East’s defense had allowed just 52 yards rushing all season.
Senior defensive end Sean McLaughlin, a Northwestern recruit, credited a few key adjustments by the Griffins for containing the Vikings.
“We were a little jittery early on,” he said. “But we settled down and tightened some things up. We played well.”
