Basically Baltz
Senior QB celebrates commitment to ISU as Griffins rout Eagles
Lincoln-Way East senior Jack Baltz started Friday night’s game against host Sandburg with a bigger smile on his face than usual.
The night before, the 6-foot-5, 190-pound quarterback made his college commitment to Illinois State.
“It’s awesome, amazing,” Baltz said. “I’m just glad I’ll get another four years to play college football. Now I get to enjoy and focus on this more.”
He had an absolute blast Friday night in East’s 57-0 SouthWest Suburban victory.
Baltz completed 9 of 17 passes for 149 yards to lead the Griffins (4-0, 2-0). He threw for touchdowns of 44 yards to Jackson Ritter and 60 yards and 12 yards to Matt Judd.
Jordan Corbett rushed 10 times for 105 yards and two TDs.
Afterward, Baltz couldn’t say enough about why he chose Illinois State over other options.
“I love it there,” Baltz said. “The whole staff are just amazing people. I think we have a good opportunity of winning a national
championship with them, and I’m just really excited about what’s to come.”
East coach Rob Zvonar couldn’t say enough about Baltz.
“Oh, we’re so happy for Jack,” Zvonar said. “He’s a tremendously high-character young man. He moved from Alabama a couple of years ago and has made his mark up here. We’re very happy for him and for his family aswell.”
The Griffins, meanwhile, went a fourth week without highly prized running back A.J. Henning, who has been on the sidelines with a hip injury.
“A.J. is ready,” Zvonar said. “He practiced all week, and he’s ready to go. We’re just being extremely overcautious probably. The doctors, his parents and the coaches made the decision in his best interests.
“He’s like a caged lion. This team has been pretty good without him. When we add an All-American into the mix, it could get awful exciting. It won’t be long now.”
The Griffins defense performed like a brick wall Friday against Sandburg (2-2, 0-2). The Eagles totaled minus-1 yard on offense.
Linebacker Jake Tomczak contributed his second interception of the season to East’s cause.
“I had a drop early on,” Tomczak said. “I could have had two. I tried to think through it and respond positively. It’s inevitable that sometimes something will go wrong. It’s how you respond that’s important. We definitely take pride in taking each play at a time. Every guy is doing his job, I think.”