Jonas Williams throws for 327 yards, four TDs in Lincoln-Way East debut, a win over Maine South

FRANKFORT – For Lincoln-Way East, at least, Friday night’s Week 1 showdown with Maine South lived up to all the hype and all the anticipation.

A 49-22 outcome in your favor will do that.

Oregon-bound quarterback Jonas Williams was all that he had been in two years at Bolingbrook, and more, throwing for 327 yards and four touchdowns while completing 21 of 34 passes.

Backup running back Brody Gish earned a star for his three-touchdown, 171-yard evening, accomplished after starter Zion Gist went down with an injury.

Receiver Talan White-Hatch revealed himself as a not-so-secret weapon, catching only two of Williams’ passes, but for touchdown receptions of 67 and 70 yards.

The evening wasn’t perfect for the Griffins, but it will do for starters.

“We definitely clicked,” Williams said of his connection with his receivers. “And Talen White is a dog. He took those two bubble passes and turned them into touchdowns.”

The second one by breaking three tackles, which made it 42-16 and sealed the Hawks’ fate.

“This was one of the most hyped games I’d ever played in,” Williams said, noting the full house, which probably numbered around 5,000. “Both sides were packed and up for it.”

Gish’s big run was a 65-yard touchdown gambol halfway through the third quarter for a 35-16 Griffins lead.

For Maine South, the outcome was bitter.

“They’re a good team across the board,” Maine South coach David Inserra said. “Not too many weaknesses. We can’t turn the ball over, have to do a better job of tackling, and we have to do a better job of conditioning. We were down to fifth-string guys at times.”

The Griffins’ 14-0 first-quarter lead, built on an 11-play drive and a 1-play strike, both ending in touchdown passes by Williams, was cut in half courtesy of Williams’ only miscue, an interception run back 68 yards by Santino Bernabel. That set up the only first-half score by the Hawks, a 15-yard touchdown pass from Constantine Coines to Jacob Vital with 3:54 left in the half.

Coines completed 15 of 25 passes for 149 yards and two touchdowns, but a pair of interceptions worked against the Maine South cause.

M.J. Schley and Keagan Ruane caught the Griffins’ touchdown passes, Schley to cap the long drive with a 12-yard grab in the end zone, Ruane taking in Williams’ perfect 29-yard strike with two minutes left in the first quarter on the first play after Coines’ first interception,

The Griffins controlled the ball with the exception of brief stretches and built a 251-83 advantage in yards in the first 24 minutes.