By Bobby Narang- Photos by Renee Kaspar
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NEW LENOX – Big-game players make big plays in big moments.
New Lenox Junior Knights quarterback Kyle Gilbert fit that bill on Sunday night.
Playing in the final regular season varsity game in the 2024 River Valley Youth Football League, Gilbert solidified his name as one of the top players in the south side.
Gilbert was a passing and running standout, while also making plays on defense.
In a way, with some help from his teammates, Gilbert did it all in a physical showdown against the New Lenox Junior Warriors at Lincoln-Way Central High School.
Gilbert gave the Knights some momentum heading into the playoffs, throwing two touchdown passes to two different receivers, running for a touchdown and adding an interception return for a score in a 28-14 win over the Warriors.
Gilbert, an eighth grader, is tall, strong, physical and fast. He’s certainly a player to keep an eye out on the high school level for the years to come.
And the best part, Gilbert played Sunday’s game with a slight cold, prompting teammates to refer to his performance in high regards, comparing the game to Chicago Bulls guard Michael Jordan’s epic outing against the Utah Jazz in the 1997 NBA finals.
Gilbert stunning day of work included a fourth down, 10-yard touchdown pass to Maverick Andresen in the first quarter. He tossed a 50-yard TD pass to Jake Woodburn on a perfectly designed play in the third quarter, then Gilbert scored on a 1-yarder in the fourth quarter on fourth down. He ended his amazing day with an interception and a 27-yard return for a touchdown.
“We started blocking better and exploiting their weaknesses when they were stacking up the middle and going outside and jamming up their weaker players,” Gilbert said. “I’ve never beat this team as a starter and I’m so hyped, so I’ve never beat them in eight years.”
Lincoln-Way Junior Knights coach Mike Malito said his team came to play in the final regular season game to finish with a 4-4 record. Malito said his team has a lot of potential and is peaking finally late in the season.
“It was a great win, a big win for us going into the playoffs against a six-win team,” Malito said. “I thought we were a little more battle-tested with a tough schedule and missing starters almost every single game. We finally got our main crew back tonight and they performed. We don’t have the numbers of every team. We have about 22 players who suit up and have to battle both ways and suck it up. I’m really proud of them to sticking together.”
New Lenox Junior Warriors coach Chad Barger had a very simple and short postgame with his players due to other obligations. Barger credited his team for keeping the game close until Gilbert’s late-game heroics. The Warriors seized a 14-8 lead after scoring two touchdowns in the second quarter, but they failed to score in the second half, while the Knights turned up the dial on offense and defense and played stellar football over the final two quarters.
“It seemed like they made better adjustments than we did and have some big boys who wanted it a little bit more than us,” Barger said. “Our guys didn’t give up. We’re never one of the bigger teams. I’m really proud of their effort in that aspect. Our quarterback, James Connolly, always does a great job out there with his leadership and effort and his play on the field. We had a lot of great effort from some our linemen, like Nate Silic, Joshua Barger and Nathan Wroblewski all did a really nice job. We just kind of missed out on opportunities today.”
The Knights jumped out to an early lead when Gilbert hit Andresen for a 10-yard TD with 4:35 left in the first quarter to cap a seven-play drive that covered four-plus minutes. Gilbert ended the possession with his fourth down pass. The drive was aided by an onside-kick recovery by Parker Hovanec, who also led the offense with 56 yards rushing.
Meanwhile, Andresen said the early touchdown was a good start.
“The outside linebacker pressed me and went in and I just went around him and Kyle threw a great ball,” Andresen said. “It was very fun game for the whole team.”
The Warriors also got a big game from their quarterback. James Connolly was skillful running the offense, showing off his strengths and poise in the pocket. Connolly passe for 98 yards and a touchdown, tossing a 32-yard pass for Mickey Olszta for an 8-8 tie in the second quarter. Connolly also rushed for 51 yards.
On their next possession, the Warriors came right back with another impressive drive. This time, the Warriors needed just half of the plays, instead of an eight-play scoring drive, they found the end zone in four plays.
On third down and four, Israel Ward, who rushed for a team-best 54 yards, scored on a spectacular 13-yard run for a 14-8 lead with 4:08 until halftime.
But the Knights buckled down on defense, and then managed to find the zone on offense to gain control of the game and score three touchdowns in the final two quarters.
The key play came when Gilbert heaved a pass in the middle of the field to a wide open Woodburn for a 50-yard score that tied the game up at 14-all.
“I just their safety and saw Jake was wide open and just threw the pass to him,” Gilbert said.
Woodburn, who also plays middle linebacker, hauled in the long pass and raced the final 30-plus yards for the touchdown that shifted the momentum of the game.
“There wasn’t a safety over the top of me, so all I had to do was beat the linebacker and Kyle threw a great ball to me,” Woodburn said. “The offense played really good. Kyle had an amazing game, and he’s sick. Everyone played good. We struggled in the first half but came up big in the second half. The defense made great adjustments and that helped a lot.”
Gilbert went back to his fourth down magic to help his team take the lead for the second and final time, scoring on a 1-yarder on fourth down with 6:14 left in the game.
“I saw their corner was there and just wanted to go right through him,” Gilbert said.
Less than two minutes later, Gilbert snared an interception and scored another TD with 4:45 to go in the game to cap his video-game like effort.
“I just put my hand up and not even sure how I caught it, but I knew I was taking to the house no matter what,” Gilbert said.
New Lenox Junior Knights defensive lineman Henry Bylaitis said the defense came to play in the second half.
“I think those last two quarters were really good, especially getting that fumbled punt that we got put us in good position and Kyle’s interception was big,” Bylaitis said. “The defense filled our gaps and made plays. That’s what we did good.”
The fifth-quarter game turned out to a good preview for the final game of the long day at Lincoln-Way Central High School in New Lenox. Both teams picked up quality defensive players, with Jeremiah Dilworth earning a big sack for the Warriors. One of the top offensive plays came via Austin Garcia’s touchdown pass to Brody Maratea to spark the Knights.
The New Lenox Junior Warriors made several noteworthy plays and had help from the entire team, including Maddyn Cullen, Eamon Lynch, Dante Garza, John Velasquez, Nolan Glynn, Austin Nimon, Devyn Woodmaster, Michael Shanahan, Logan Schlender, Thomas Walsh, Gavin Reyna, Mickey Olszta, Jeremiah Dilworth, Owen Miller, Charles Strezo, Blake Kanzulak, Nathan Norwich, Alejandro Alcantara, Teddy Dinolfo, Mason Fortuna, Jack McCarthy, Ameen Ali, Ethan Oskvarek, Knox Rimkus and Mick Chearo.
The New Lenox Junior Knights picked up contributions from Jameson Frericks, Benjamin Key, Liam Wilkenson, Austin Garcia, Jake Zidek, Kellan Kressel, Carter Riedl, Russell Hatch, Benjamin Rodriguez, Brody Maratea, Colin McAllister, Will Anderson, Weston Madonia, Calvin Huizinga, Tyler Sterritt, Anthony Valente, James Nape, Noah Szarzynski, Jackson Miller and Charles Sleight.
The Varsity Knights’ cheerleaders were force of light and energy that brought life to the final game of the day. The team included Mai Accettura, Kairi Achter, Kadence Barnett, Abigail Basile, Camille Davies, Alexa DeBoer, Abigail Ferrucci, Delaney Flanagan, Kendall Gade, Gwendolyn Garcia, Hannah Hallo, Gabi Hallo, Leah Hernandez, Reese Jacobson, Abigail Janowski, Isabella Leggero, Sophia Lindholm, Evelyn Neil, Mia Noto, Giada Noto, Emma Perich and Raegen Richardson.
The Varsity Warriors also performed well and did several stellar routines. The team consisted of Brenna Biedron, Lily Cagle, Sophia DeGrave, Josie Elstner, Ava Evans, Evelyn Finley, Madelyn Greenhill, Ashlynn Grund, Allyson Hennebry, Madelyn Janotta, Alyssa Koscinski, Bailey Kudla, Alicea Lanski, Dakota Massat, Addyson Mongan, Emme Nawrocki, Ella Neumann, Brooke Pandell, Lillian Popp, Jane Rick, Elaina Strand, Kenzington Waszak, Marisa Whittington and Alania Wilson.
