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Sports

Unbeatens Lemont, Tinley Park Clash Friday

Indians' homecoming doubles as South Suburban Blue battle.

Two unbeaten teams battling for the top spot in the South Suburban Blue Conference is what's awaiting the homecoming crowd this Friday at 7 p.m. at  as the host Indians battle Tinley Park.

The Indians (4-0, 1-0) are coming off a 30-0 shutout win over Thornton Fractional South, while Tinley Park’s Titans (4-0, 1-0) are fresh off a 44-27 homecoming triumph over Evergreen Park. Bremen leads the conference with a 4-0, 2-0 mark and the Braves play host to Thornton Fractional South before facing  next week.

This matchup is what any prep football fan could hope for and any coach would be concerned about.

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“(I) hope we can handle their offense,” coach Eric Michaelsen said. “Homecoming week is always a distraction. We do our best to try to keep the kids focused on football.”

Tinley Park, coached by Nick Johnston, is led by senior quarterback Kyle Sheridan, sophomore running back Preston Thompson, senior running back Gregory Wallace and senior wide receiver Eldridge Anderson.

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Against Evergreen Park, Sheridan was six of 13 for 106 yards and one touchdown. The running backs combined for 222 yards and four rushing touchdowns with Thompson getting 18 carries for 76 yards and two scores and Wallace gaining 146 on eight carries and two scores. Anderson had four grabs for 59 yards and a score.

Their “quarterback, running backs and wide receiver are all excellent,” Michaelsen said. “Their offensive line will be the best we have faced. Defensively, (their) defensive end, linebackers and safety are all excellent athletes. Their specials have returned several kicks this year.

On “offense, (they are a) spread run team that throws well. (Sheridan) is a great decision-maker, ball handler. It's like a track meet. Defensively, you can see their improvement from week to week. They always play well against us.”

Tinley Park has averaged 48.5 points on offense, but given up 28.3 on defense. The Titans have found a way to win with the high-powered offense and aid from momentum-changing scores from their special teams.

“We need to tackle well and play our positions well,” said Michaelsen about stopping the Titan attack. “We must trust each other and do our job. (Tinley Park’s) defense is getting better — tackling better — their problems early were with big plays against explosive offenses.”

’s offense has averaged 40.3 points a game and has given up just six points in the four games played.

 quarterback Damon Aleman completed seven of 15 passes for 105 yards and two touchdowns in the win over T.F. South. Mike Anzalone had a season-high 25 carries for 118 yards and two touchdowns. Tyler Jay (four catches, 66 yards) and Nick Theodore (one catch, 23 yards) caught touchdown passes. But the backs and receivers can’t do what they do without the offensive line. Anthony Pocic (left tackle), Travis Layer (left guard), Nick Runnfeldt (center), Tim McAuliffe (right guard) and Carl Chanda (right tackle) continue to open holes and protect the quarterback.

“Aleman continues to improve each week,” Michaelsen said. “Anzalone runs hard and the offensive line is pretty much still intact. They are a key.

The defense (behind three intercepts, two sacks and one fumble recovery) pitched its third shutout of the season last Friday. With two more shutouts, the defense would tie two teams during Michaelsen’s tenure that have posted five shutouts in a season — the 2009 defense (four regular, one playoff) and the 2007 defense (five regular defense).

“Our defense has played well,” Michaelsen said. “(We) still need to improve our tackling and pursuit angles. (It is) hard to compare with other years. The one consistent is our defensive coordinator John Howell, defensive line coach John Coneset and outside linebacker coach Dave Michalak. Newcomer Terry McCombs coaches inside linebackers for us. They get the kids to play hard. (Our) leaders are Kyle Krull (senior linebacker), Brad Uher (senior linebacker) and Tommy Kunkel (senior defensive back).”

Krull has nine solo tackles, 11 assists, which includes three sacks for 32 yards in losses. Uher has six solos, seven assists and two sacks for 22 yards for losses. Kunkel has three solos, four assists and one interception return for 26 yards.

Other leaders include defensive lineman John Tomala (18 solos, four assists, three sacks for 20 yards in loss), linebacker Connor O’Brien (seven solos, 15 assists, two sacks for 10 yards of loss), linebacker Vince Letizia (16 solos, five assists and one sack for a loss of seven), defensive back Jake Lemming (12 solos, six assists and two interceptions with 17 return yards) and defensive back Mike Monaco (four solos, four assists, team-leading three interceptions for 14 return yards).

The defense has 12 sacks on the year for 97 yards of loss and seven interceptions for 82 return yards.

 needs to be wary of Tinley Park’s special teams. Wallace returned a kickoff 99 yards for a score against Evergreen Park and returned a punt back for a score against T.F. North.

“We spend a lot of time on specials,” Michaelsen said. “We always feel they are important, especially important versus an explosive team.”

 has to execute. Mistakes led to 12 penalties for 100 yards against them last week. Any kind of turnover or penalty could tip the scales to either side.

“We had way too many penalties last week,” Michaelsen said.

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