For the second week in a row, No. 20 Richards found itself in the middle of a close game. For the first week in a row, the Bulldogs (5-1, 3-1) pulled out the close game, edging host Oak Lawn 14-12 in a SICA Orange showdown.
“It could have gone either way,” said Richards coach Gary Korhonen, whose team lost to Rich East last weekend on a late touchdown pass. “It was a real well-played game by both teams.”
Shaun Brown (30 carries) rushed for 212 yards and the Bulldogs’ first score, a 61-yard run midway through the first quarter. Richards, which led 7-0 at the half, went up 14-0 when Casey Kelly hit Morgan Thompson from 19 yards out.
Oak Lawn (4-2, 3-1) then rallied for two touchdowns in the final quarter on two passes from Tacho Gamino (6 for 20, 166 yards), the first to Aaron Altenburg and then to Joe Hubatch. The Spartans, though, failed to convert either extra point and stalled at their own 13-yard line with 4 minutes left.
Naperville Central 49, West Aurora 23: After falling behind 6-0 and then 9-7, the second-ranked Redhawks (6-0, 4-0) scored 28 second-half points en route to the DuPage Valley victory over West Aurora (3-3, 1-3). D.J. Johnson rushed for 135 yards, including touchdown runs of 2 and 3 yards. The Redhawks’ special teams blocked two punts. Nick Phend recovered the second in the end zone for a touchdown.
“We put a complete game together tonight,” said Johnson. “We scored on offense, defense and special teams. We kept our composure after they were up early.”
Lockport 42, Sandburg 22: In his varsity debut, sophomore running back Craig Duppong rushed for 148 yards and three touchdowns to lead host Lockport (4-1, 2-1) to the upset of No. 8 Sandburg (5-1, 2-1) in the SICA Blue.
Duppong keyed a 28-point fourth quarter with a 52-yard TD run to break open a 14-14 game. Brian Herich scored the next two Lockport touchdowns on receptions of 6 and 32 yards from Luke Sievers (10 of 18, 168 yards, two TDs).
Maine South 10, Maine West 0: No. 10 Maine South (6-0, 2-0 Central Suburban North) pulled out the defensive struggle on a 42-yard touchdown with 9 minutes 49 seconds left by Dino Gardiakos’ (17 carries, 120 yards). The loss, the fourth straight for Maine West (2-4, 0-2), eliminates the Warriors from playoff contention.
Downers Grove South 56, Morton 6: Marcus Moore had 177 yards rushing and two touchdowns to lead No. 11 Downers South (6-0, 3-0) in the West Suburban Gold. Downers amassed 427 yards of offense compared to just 136 for Morton (2-4, 0-3).
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“It kind of came down to their size against our speed,” said Downers South coach John Belskis. “And that’s the game of football right now–speed. Our speed overwhelmed them tonight.”
Waubonsie Valley 30, Elgin 0: Justin Slais had two touchdown runs and R.J. Luke extended his consecutive-pass-reception streak to 36 games as No. 12 Waubonsie Valley (5-1, 4-0) had little trouble in the Upstate Eight. Slais rushed for 236 yards on 21 carries, the fourth time he has rushed for more than 200 yards in the last five games.
“We came into the game thinking we could pass,” said Slais. “Our mentality was to throw the ball, but I was just getting some big holes.”
Naperville North 56, West Chicago 8: Chris Brown touched the ball five times and scored four touchdowns as the 13th-ranked Huskies (5-1, 4-0) routed West Chicago (1-5, 0-4) in the DuPage Valley.
Brown opened the scoring for Naperville North with a 37-yard run and then caught a 50-yard pass from Kevin Kobe (6 for 6, 150 yards, three TDs). He later scored on an 11-yard run in the third quarter and again on a 48-yarder from Kobe.
Woodstock 47, Prairie Ridge 8: Roy Fritz (six carries, 121 yards) had touchdown runs of 2, 22 and 60 yards to power No. 16 Woodstock (6-0, 6-0) past Prairie Ridge (0-6, 0-6) in the Fox Valley. Dave Davis added two rushing TDs for Blue Streaks, while Chris Berry accounted for Prairie Ridge’s lone score.
Fremd 35, Wheeling 0: Pat Brown completed 13 of 17 passes for 255 yards and three touchdowns in the Mid-Suburban League North rout.
Brown first connected with Andre Duncan for a 43-yard strike in the first quarter for the Vikings (6-0, 2-0). He also hooked up with Brian Bucciarelli and Paul Diederich.
“Brown is really starting to a nice feel for the offense,” said Fremd coach Mike Donatucci. “He’s our main man. He’s got good receivers to throw to also.”
Bishop McNamara 56, Hales Franciscan 0: No. 19 Bishop McNamara (5-1, 3-0) scored 28 first-quarter points and never let up in the Metro Catholic Green. Johnny Short had three rushing touchdowns, as Bishop McNamara scored all of its touchdowns in four or less plays. Hales is 1-4, 0-3.