Tolbert is Iron Man
Eastern Illinois recruit makes plays on both sides of ball to lift the Hawks past Lemont
It doesn’t matter the role, Elijawah Tolbert is ready and willing to take it on for Hillcrest.
Be it as a defensive leader, an offensive threat that can line up nearly anywhere on the field or especially as the player who steps up with the game on the line.
“I know the coaches look at me as a leader,” Tolbert said. “And when a play needs to be made, they look at me to make it. I’ve got to make a play.”
Tolbert made all of those types of plays on both sides of the ball Friday night, including intercepting David Niemyjski’s pass with under two minutes left to put the final touches on a 30-24 South Suburban Blue victory over visiting Lemont.
An Eastern Illinois recruit as a linebacker, Tolbert also caught four passes for 86 yards and a touchdown.
“He’s a baller,” Hillcrest coach Morgan Weaver said of Tolbert. “He’s a ballplayer. This is a definition of a football player.”
Tolbert’s TD came on a screen when he was lined up as a tight end for Hillcrest (2-0, 1-0). Early in the third quarter, he also pulled in a 41-yard reception while lined up out wide as a receiver.
That catch set up quarterback Caleb Treadwell’s 7-yard TD run, giving the Hawks a 30-17 lead.
Treadwell accounted for 140 yards and three TDs, including two passing. Senior running back Mar’Keise Irving, the Minnesota recruit, ran for 214 yards and a TD.
“We know what we’re going to get out of him,” Weaver said of Tolbert. “He’s just going to make plays. He wants to be that guy. He wants to be the playmaker. He wants to put the team on his back
like (Irving) does.
“When you’ve got both of those guys on the same side of the ball, it’s just dangerous.”
Lemont (1-1, 1-1) cut the deficit to 30-24 on Albert Kunickis’ 4-yard TD run with 10:31 left in the fourth quarter and then had two chances late to take the lead.
Trailing by six points, the Indians twice had the ball in the final 5 ½ minutes, but Hillcrest’s defense came up with big stops.
Tolbert thwarted a fourth-down play on the first drive, resulting in a turnover on downs. He ended the next drive with the key interception.
“I saw a stick route,” Tolbert said. “I trusted my speed. I baited the quarterback. Once I saw him release, I knew it was go time.
“I feel like we played OK. We could have played a lot better, but when we needed stops and we needed turnovers, the defense definitely showed up.”
Lemont was led by Sam Andreotti, who ran for 76 yards and caught a 62-yard TD pass. Kunickis added 52 yards rushing and also kicked a 37-yard field goal.
But in the end, it wasn’t enough to overcome Tolbert and the Hawks.
“That’s what they do defensively,” Lemont coach Bret Kooi said. “They put a lot of pressure on you to make mistakes, and that’s what we did. We’ll go back to work and our kids will be challenged.
“We’ll try to clean things up and try to learn from it.”