This post was contributed by a community member. The views expressed here are the author's own.

Sports

Football: Evergreen Park Capitalizes on Turnovers, Rallies Past Oak Lawn

Evergreen Park 21, Oak Lawn 6: Three Spartan turnovers resulted in all 21 points for the Mustangs in their South Suburban Red Conference victory Friday night.

Breaking It Down: As often is the case, the team that won the turnover battle won on the scoreboard as well. Evergreen Park took advantage of three turnovers in the second half that led to all 21 of the Mustangs’ points in a 21-6 homecoming victory over South Suburban Red Conference rival Oak Lawn on Friday night.

Oak Lawn was able to stop the option run game of Evergreen Park’s Brandon White and Victor Baker, pitching a shutout in the first half.

Bob Olsen’s quarterback keeper on fourth-and-goal in the second quarter gave the Spartans a 6-0 halftime lead, but they couldn’t muster much offense in the second half. Evergreen Park keyed on the running tandem of Sean Hayden and Ahmad Shatat, forcing Olsen to beat them with his arm.

Find out what's happening in Evergreen Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

While Olsen did well at times in Oak Lawn’s short passing attack, his four turnovers were the difference in the second half. An interception at the start of the second half led to a 36-yard touchdown run from Evergreen Park running back Jared Jackson. The Mustangs capitalized on Olsen’s fumble on the next possession when Jackson turned a screen pass into an 87-yard touchdown catch and run.

Patch’s MVP: Jared Jackson, Evergreen Park. Victor Baker may get the majority of the carries as Evergreen Park’s feature back, but on Friday night it was Jackson who made the most of his touches. His 36-yard scamper on a long third down gave Evergreen Park the lead at 7-6, and he broke several tackles while following his downfield blocks to put the Mustangs up 14-6 at the end of the third quarter.

Find out what's happening in Evergreen Parkwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

Oak Lawn Stat Pack: Sean Hayden was held to 22 yards rushing on 15 attempts. Ahmad Shatat led the Spartans in rushing with 53 yards on 13 carries. Bob Olsen was 10-for-24 passing for 100 yards, but had three interceptions and a fumble.

Evergreen Park Stat Pack: Baker finished with 59 yards rushing on 19 carries. White went 5-for-9 passing for 94 yards and a touchdown. Jackson had four receptions for 90 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 65 yards on four carries and a touchdown.

Quotable I: “Six points; that’s the best defensive game we’ve played all year,” Evergreen Park coach Dan Hartman said. “Turnovers and shutting down the run, I thought we did a tremendous job.”

Quotable II: “All season when we turn the ball over it gets converted into points,” Oak Lawn coach Sean Lucas said. “We have to do a better job holding onto the ball. You’re not going to win games like that.”

Team Records: Evergreen Park moves to 4-2 on the season (2-1 South Suburban Red), while Oak Lawn falls to 3-3 and 1-2.

What’s Next: The Mustangs travel to Argo on Oct. 8, while Oak Lawn goes on the road against Richards on Oct. 7.

Scores of Interest: Richards defeated Reavis 36-14; Lemont blanked Brement 21-0; Oak Forest topped Argo 48-18. For more scores, visit the IHSA ScoreZone

We’ve removed the ability to reply as we work to make improvements. Learn more here

The views expressed in this post are the author's own. Want to post on Patch?

More from Evergreen Park