The Bengals football team recently completed back to back wins last Friday, Oct. 4 in their homecoming victory against Joliet Central 34-10.
The contest between the two conference rivals was shaping up to be a nail-biter in the first half, with the Steelmen taking an early 7-0 lead in the first, but East was able to pull away in the last two quarters thanks to stellar defense and a consistent run game.
Joliet simply did not have an answer for Plainfield’s offensive rushing. Running back Jerimiah Jenkins rushed for 163 yards and three touchdowns, while RB Shawn Harris added 121 yards and a touchdown of his own.
“My offense stepped up, the O-line stepped up, and that’s what we’ve been looking for,” said Jenkins.
The Bengals went into the game knowing their work on the ground was the key to victory. RB and Wide receiver Hugh Callaghan took on the task of playing quarterback, with the starter out of the game.
“I might not win the team the game, but I can certainly help us not lose it by limiting errors and stuff like that,” said Callaghan.
Callaghan was able to muster up 80 yards in the air while throwing a passing touchdown to WR Jayden Cawthon, who had 80 receiving yards on seven receptions. Callaghan threw one interception in the first quarter.
“You saw Shawn Harris out there, he was breaking a lot of tackles, [Jenkins] was hitting that edge,” said Callaghan, “that really helped me out, and the team get that momentum going.”
The Bengals defense also helped out in the homecoming win, nabbing one interception in the fourth thanks to Cornerback Ajonte Greer. The Steelmen were shutout in the second half.
“The guys came up, they understood, they knew what they needed to do, they understood their responsibility, their role, and the discipline, so hats off to them,” said Jordan Hovel, Plainfield Defensive Coordinator, “it had nothing to do with me, these guys went out, and did their jobs.”
East improved their record with the win to 2-4 overall, 2-2 in conference. The team has a belief that they can carry this momentum they’ve obtained with the two straight wins into later weeks.
“We’re just focusing on the next team every week, just focusing on [Plainfield] South. The job isn’t finished, we still have got three games trying to make the playoffs,” said Jenkins.
The Bengals take on their cross-town rivals Plainfield South Friday, Oct. 11 at the Cougars’ stadium.
