Lincoln-Way West, led by the O-line, grinds out 7A playoff win over Plainfield North

Lincoln-Way West’s 21-7 victory over Plainfield North on Friday night wasn’t as spectacular as it was workmanlike.The Warriors used their burly offensive line to make room for quarterback Jacob Howard and running back Carl Langley III, who ran for 87 and 103 yards, respectively, with Howard running for touchdowns of 1 and 8 yards and throwing for the other, a 6-yard pass to Jaden Smith.The outcome in the Class 7A round of 32 game advances the Warriors (7-4) to an encounter next weekend with the winner of Saturday’s Plainfield South-St. Laurence game.Howard and Langley were beneficiaries of the muscle provided by Brayden Niemeyer, Collin Kannenberg, Brayden Shaub, Chase Doyle and Broden Newman. They average 243 pounds, by no means huge these days, but their blocking was crisp, efficient and shoved Tigers aside just enough for the Warriors to put up 190 yards rushing and 60 passing.“They were blocking hard the whole game, and Carl, too, leading the way for me,” Howard said.“It was open a