Lincoln-Way East hasn’t been in the habit of surprising people much over the years.
The Griffins have won consistently with a predictable mix of physical defense and a productive ground game.
Having Jonas Williams, who broke most of the state’s career passing records before leaving for USC after last season, tweaked the offensive formula a bit.
But the Griffins started this season ranked No. 18 in the area with a mostly new team and a new offensive coordinator in Lance Lokanc.
On Friday night, they pulled off the first big upset of the season by stunning No. 2 Brother Rice 22-21 in Frankfort.
Lincoln-Way East’s biggest play of the night was just as surprising: a 62-yard flea-flicker for a touchdown from Evan LeFevour to Logan Martinez with 9:30 left that cut its deficit to 21-19.
‘‘We put it in this week,’’ LeFevour said. ‘‘O-line protected it great. [I] just threw a good ball, [and Martinez] had a good catch.’’
Griffins coach Rob Zvonar acknowledged the novelty of his team pulling off a gadget play.
‘‘[Former longtime offensive coordinator] Joel Pallissard didn’t run a trick play in 30 years,’’ Zvonar said.
Lincoln-Way East’s defense then forced a three-and-out, and Tommy McCracken made a 33-yard field goal with 4:55 left for the Griffins’ first lead of the game at 22-21.
McCracken had missed a 30-yard field goal and an extra point earlier.
‘‘I was just hoping I’d get that next shot, and I did and made up for it,’’ McCracken said. ‘‘Did all I can do and just move on from the mistakes I made.’’
LeFevour also threw a 19-yard touchdown pass to Drew Harper late in the third quarter. He completed 16 of 26 passes for 161 yards with no interceptions. Aidan Cavanaugh ran 15 times for 99 yards, including a three-yard touchdown late in the first half.
‘‘We knew that we were a team that’s going to [have to] be dealt with, regardless of who we were losing, what seniors we were losing,’’ LeFevour said. ‘‘We knew we were coming ready to play.’’
Senior offensive lineman Mason Halliman, an Illinois recruit, helped protect LeFevour against a Crusaders defensive line led by Power Four prospects Brayden Parks (Notre Dame) and Kam McGee.
‘‘Sometimes I had Brayden, sometimes I had Kam,’’ Halliman said. ‘‘You’ve just got to do the fundamentals.’’
‘‘I told the kids we’ve had a lot of moments here,’’ Zvonar said, ‘‘big wins and special experiences. I said, ‘You just put another moment up there.’ ’’
As expected, Brother Rice used a pair of quarterbacks, senior Rocco Galasso and freshman Sam Holcomb.
Galasso was 16-for-29 for 170 yards with two interceptions and Holcomb 11-for-15 for 119 yards with no interceptions.
Holcomb accounted for all three of the Crusaders’ touchdowns on a pair of one-yard runs — one of which was set up by his own 53-yard run — and a 10-yard pass to Jahon Wilson.