Ian M. Ryan shares how Oak Forest advanced to Round 3 in the OFHS playoffs.
Oak Forest beat Bloomington in a very fun matchup 34-14. Despite a scoreline that doesn’t seem close, this game was much closer than it seemed. Bloomington’s offense came to life in the second half and Oak Forest’s offense struggled with turnovers, luckily, the Bengals had a great first half. Let’s see how the Bengals came out with a victory.
I want to start by saying that anyone with the name pronounced “Knee-koh” is in very good standing at Oak Forest. Neiko Leflore put together one of the best games that I’ve ever seen on a high school football field. 2 TDs in the first half with over 100 yards gained via pass and rush. Niko Aldorondo had a few huge plays on defense to keep Bloomington away from the end-zone. One on fourth down in the red zone and another on a third down sack.
Danny Chopp added three touchdowns of his own and I’m officially requesting to have a phrase of “Get Chopped” trademarked after he scored twice by trucking players leading into the end zone. Chopp made two mistakes this game, a bad handoff that resulted in a fumble recovered by the Purple Raiders and then an interception in the end zone. Besides that, Chopp could do no wrong. Him and Leflore clearly have a great connection. When I talked to both of them after the game, we laughed about the turnovers.
“Those are ugly, but I’m glad we found a way to win,” said Chopp. I asked Leflore about his career best game to which he told me
“The Hillcrest loss left a bad taste in my mouth, I had like 4 dropped passes and I told myself I wouldn’t let my team down like that again.”
I asked what prepared him for this round 2 game and he told me, “It’s easy when you have this QB (Chopp), these coaches, and great teammates around you.”
I asked Danny Chopp the same question, what prepared you for this success in round 2 as a dual-threat QB, to which he said “I have to give it to my offensive line. I can’t do anything without them. My coaches are great, too.”
The offensive line was outsized by the Bloomington defensive line. They were taller, heavier, and honestly… could have overpowered the Bengals offensive line, however, the Bengals offensive line was tough as nails. They controlled the line of scrimmage. Will McMaster didn’t score a touchdown this game, but his impact was felt as Leflore was wide open on a deep pass, and the play action/option plays were very successful. Bloomington ran a packed box to reduce the running attack, but in the first half, it didn’t work well.
Bloomington was held scoreless in the first, partially thanks to a blown call on a fumble that was recovered by Bloomington, but Oak Forest was awarded the ball. That was on the opening drive of the game, and it was downhill from there for the Purple Raiders in the first half. A call that was given to Bloomington could have changed this game entirely.
Bloomington found themselves down 27-0 coming out in the second half, the Purple Raider defense made a stop, highlighted by a fantastic play by Seyller Green (huge shoutout to the Green family for spending time talking with me at the game, such a nice family!) to deflect a pass intended for Andrew Dawson, and led to a massive drive by running back Ky’veon Chestnut. A highlight reel run off the right end down the sideline and then a 1-yard rushing TD in which he plowed over a Bengal defender started the rally.
A later fumble by Will McMaster, recovered by Cedrick Gassaway gave the Purple Raiders the ball and they scored on a deep pass to receiver Carter Tindall from quarterback Keyontae Hamilton.
As good as the Purple Raiders offense was in the second half, the Oak Forest defense was good the whole game. I spoke with Niko Aldorondo who had multiple big stops including a sack on a 3rd down scramble, as well as a big 4th down stop in the red zone. I asked him what allowed him to be prepared to make those plays and he responded:
“Being mentally and physically locked in all week, sticking to assignments, and my teammates doing their jobs.”
This Oak Forest defense has had ice in their veins since the loss to Hillcrest and I asked Aldorondo about that ability to make plays in crucial moments,
“Our team chemistry and confidence we have in each other is what helps push us to get the job done in the crucial moments.”
I also met with Andrew Dawson who batted down 3 passes at the line and asked him what gives him the ability to deflect passes at the line…
“Just reading the lineman and knowing what plays I need to pursue or back into coverage. I watch a lot of film to get comfortable doing that.”
Dawson wasn’t the only one who talked about film assisting their game… Colin Crotty mentioned “Film helps me a lot week-to-week to know my assignments.” Crotty was great a few times in coverage and had a pass deflection as a result of it.
I reached out to the Bloomington Head Coach without a response. I did get to talk with Carter Tindall, who put together a great performance on both sides of the ball with 4 catches for 115 yards and a TD as well as 8 tackles on the defensive side. I asked the dynamic player how he prepared and what allowed him to be so good on both sides of the ball, and he responded with:
“It’s my hunger for the game. I want to be better than the person across from me. I think it’s my aggressive mindset for the game.”
I also know this isn’t the outcome the Purple Raiders had hoped for, but the season was still a success. I wanted to know what that success was like in his eyes.
“My class got to get better. Each year our record and overall bond together no matter the outcome. We always wanted to strive for more.”
I’m confident that this team will in fact bounce back and strive for more next year. Bengals head coach, Zac Sadek, told me:
“We continued to preach our normalcy this week. We don’t need to change anything drastic just because it’s the playoffs. We know our identity.”
Oak Forest has stuck to its dynamic play style and leaned on its leaders to get the job done. Coach Sadek mentioned how pivotal it has been having coaches around him with experience.
“Most of our coaches have state experience, a few have rings. Our goal is to get another one. This coaching staff knows how to get it done.”
While Bloomington looks to bounce back with a solid return of juniors on the varsity team, Oak Forest continues on the roller coaster that Coach Sadek talked about last week, facing off against Peoria at 3pm on Saturday, November 15th.
Check out the Behind the Coaching Instagram @behindthecoaching for updates as I follow along with the game from the sidelines!
Interested in more photos and videos from the game? Head to Flickr
This Oak Forest team is dominant in the first half of games. It’s scary!