East Aurora picked the wrong guy to try to stop. While the Tomcats’ defense focused on tight end R.J. Luke, Justin Slais ran wild, racking up 221 yards and four TDs as the 15th-ranked Warriors (4-1, 3-0 Upstate Eight) rolled to a 48-0 victory Friday over visiting East Aurora (0-5, 0-3).
“Teams still tend to gear their defense to stop R.J.,” Waubonsie Valley coach B.J. Luke said. “So we just respond by setting Justin loose.”
Slais, who scored on runs of 2, 7, 9 and 18 yards, moved to running back this season after playing quarterback last fall.
R.J. isn’t a bad choice for a defensive coordinator to set his sights on. The tight end did catch two passes to run his state-record streak to 35 straight games with a reception and now needs 17 ccatches to become the state career leader. But Slais has been hurting teams all year.
Friday marked his third 200-yard, three-TD effort in five games. He has 13 touchdowns and 855 yards and also handles the kicking duties.
Woodstock 40, Grayslake 27: Led by Craig Kastning’s six touchdowns, No. 20 Woodstock (5-0, 5-0) rolled past Grayslake (1-4, 1-4) in the Fox Valley. Friday it was business as usual for Kastning, who leads the team in both rushing and receiving, as he ran for 95 yards on 18 carries and three TDs and caught 10 passes for 117 yards and his final three scores.
Providence 42, Holy Cross 7: With their blowout of Holy Cross (2-3), the top-ranked Celtics (5-0) ran their winning streak to 47 games, tying East St. Louis for the second longest streak in state history. Adam O’Reel, who completed 12 of 17 passes for 207 yards and two TDs, hit David Popp (six catches, 141 yards) on the first play of the game with a 53-yard touchdown pass. Popp then scored on an 18-yard run, followed by O’Reel’s second touchdown pass, a 4-yarder to Eric Steinbach, as Providence led 28-0 at the half. Justin Ruggio led the ground attack with 127 yards and two TDs.
Bolingbrook 20, Stagg 7: Antoineo Harris rushed for 208 yards but was kept out of the end zone for No. 3 Bolingbrook (5-0, 3-0) in its SICA Gray victory at Stagg (3-2, 1-2). Eric Cawthon threw a 16-yard touchdown strike to Todd Howard and also scored on a 2-yard plunge, while Bryan Bradshaw chipped in with two field goals (27 and 29 yards). The Bolingbrook defense sacked Stagg quarterback Andy Heikes four times and forced six turnovers. Bryan Smith led Stagg with 138 rushing yards and broke a 56-yarder but fumbled just short of the end zone.
Evanston 55, Maine East 12: Siaka Massaquoi set the tone for No. 5 Evanston (5-0, 1-0) as he broke free for a 63-yard touchdown on the Wildkits’ first offensive play. Massaquoi, who also had two other first-half touchdown runs to bring his total to 11 for the year, rushed for 216 yards on just 11 carries in the Central Suburban South rout. Sam Robinson had three carries for 78 yards, including a 48-yard TD run for Evanston.
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Mt. Carmel 49, Carmel 34: Carmel fought off the intimidation factor, and that was a victory in itself, said coach Mike Fitzgibbons. But the sixth-ranked Caravan came away with the real victory to run its record to 5-0, 3-0 Catholic Metro Blue. Ted Bolden led the way for Mt. Carmel, which never trailed, with 206 rushing yards and two TDs. Jim Hanna paced Carmel (3-2, 1-2) with a pair of TDs and 105 yards on the ground.
Palatine 32, Buffalo Grove 20: Quarterback Sergio Lund rushed for three TDs and passed for another to lead No. 7 Palatine (5-0, 1-0) past Buffalo Grove (2-3, 0-1) in a Mid-Suburban North opener. Lund, who rushed for 79 yards, had a 7-yard run on the Pirates’ opening drive. With the game tied 14-14, Buffalo Grove fumbled on its first possession of the third quarter. Four plays later, Mario Caicedo (16 carries, 102 yards) scored from 10 yards out for Palatine to put the game away. Yaacov Yisrael also rushed for 102 yards for the Pirates.
Sandburg 58, Bloom 6: Playing in just the first half, junior Brian Corcoran rushed seven times for 137 yards and touchdowns of 10, 17 and 83 yards as No. 10 Sandburg (5-0, 2-0) beat up on Bloom (0-5, 0-2) in the SICA Blue. Pedro Lozada added two touchdowns and finished with 97 yards on 15 carries.
Naperville North 42, Wheaton North 13: No. 16 Naperville North scored on all of its possessions in the first half and rolled past Wheaton North. Chris Brown led the Huskies (4-1, 3-0 DuPage Valley) with three TDs and Early Kluss, who caught two passes for 61 yards, returned a punt 98 yards to highlight the onslaught. At 0-5, 0-3, Wheaton North is off to the worst start in school history.
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