A.J.’s A-OK
Henning makes season debut as unbeaten Griffins rout Knights
Excited. Nervous. Anxious. Those were the feelings experienced by Lincoln-Way East running back A.J. Henning as he made his much-anticipated debut Friday night.
The 5-foot-10, 180-pound junior had been sidelined all season with a left hip flexor, but he didn’t disappoint the crowd of 7,000plus spectators.
Henning rushed for 77 yards on five carries and hauled in a 54-yard touchdown pass to help Lincoln-Way East to a 38-0 SouthWest Suburban win over visiting Lincoln-Way Central.
“I’ve been waiting for this moment,” saidHenning, who has 25 scholarship offers. “I had a bunch of emotions. I was excited.”
Quarterback Jack Baltz completed 8 of 11 passes for 157 yards and two TDs. He hit Chase Anderson on a nifty 63-yard TD pass to give the defending Class 8A state champion Griffins (5-0, 3-0) a 24-0 halftime lead.
But it was Baltz’s TD toss to Henning that drew the biggest roar — and created some confusion.
Baltz executed a beautiful fake handoff before locating a wideopen Henning streaking down the field for theTD.
Most of the crowd— and some Lincoln-Way Central defenders — thought Baltz had handed off the ball.
Henning had a good idea he would be open.
“It’s kind of a trick play,” Henning said. “Baltz shows the fake and I comeoff the line a little slow. I saw the cornerback come up and I knew it was a touchdown.”
Baltz, an Illinois State recruit, is excited about the possibilities of the offense with a healthy Henning in the mix.
“It’s awesome,” Baltz said. “We have so many options, so many weapons. We just have to keep getting better.”
Henning confirmed he needs to be in better shape. He was caught from behind at Central’s 10-yard line after picking up 61 yards on a run.
“I was in a little bit of shock,” Henning said. “Like, that really happened? I have to work on my conditioning a little bit more.”
East’s ground game produced 347 yards. Devon Williams had 152 yards and two TDs on seven carries, and Jordan Corbett added 106 yards and a TD on 10 carries.
“It allowsus to keep everybody fresh,” Lincoln-Way East coach Rob Zvonar said. “There’s no animosity. No jealousy. They all have a lot of pride.”
The shutout was the third straight for the Griffins defense, which held the Knights (3-2, 3-1) to 78 yards passing and 11 yards rushing. Sean McLaughlin had two sacks, while Mick Stewart, Jacob Kramer and Danny Scianna each had one.
Ian Troester had two interceptions for the Knights.
“Our execution on both sides wasn’t very good,” Lincoln-Way Central coach Jeremy Cordell said. “They’re solid. We had too many breakdowns.”