Football: Sandburg Lineman Thornton Provides Timely Heroics

to open SouthWest Suburban Blue play Saturday was a much closer game than the Eagles had hoped it would be, but it was the best game of the season so far for at least one player—senior lineman Mike Thornton.

Early in the third quarter, Joliet West was charging down the field, trailing 28-21. The Tigers had tied the game once at 14-all and again at 21-all, and they were looking to at least even the score once again.

Quarterback Zack DiVarco dropped back to pass, and a host of Eagle defenders, led by Brandon Dace, applied immense pressure before knocking DiVarco down and jarred the ball loose.

Thornton scooped up the fumble and returned it 56 yards for a touchdown.

"All I remember was coming off the edge,” Thornton said. “It's always important to go full all the time, even off the back side. I remember the ball rolled out and I slowed down because I didn't want to overrun it, and I scooped it up.

"I wouldn't have made it if it wasn't for my teammates blocking for me. I'm told there were two big blocks made that helped me get in. It was a definite game-changer."

Thornton moves well for a two-way lineman listed at 6-foot-2 and 215 pounds. His fumble return put the Eagles up 35-21, and it proved to be one of the game’s critical plays. Another was a fumble recovered in the end zone by 's Eddie Zilinskas early in the fourth quarter for a touchback.

Thornton had set his mind to bringing back a turnover for a touchdown.

"At halftime, I was thinking about recovering a fumble or picking one off and running it back, and that's what I did," he said.

While Sandburg coach Dave Wierzal certainly appreciated Thornton's efforts, he had been hoping for a game in which his team wouldn't need such a big play.

"It's cliche in the sense to say that big plays will be the deciding factors, but you hope that you won't need those big plays if you play good, solid football," Wierzal said.