On an opening weekend of exciting plays by fleet-footed running backs and receivers, the most thrilling play came Saturday from a Fremd linebacker who underestimated his speed against Benet pursuers.
Fremd and Benet were tied 7-7 with 3 seconds left in Lisle when host Benet attempted a screen pass, which Jason Sponsel intercepted. The 215-pound Sponsel dashed 38 yards to give visiting Fremd a 13-7 victory.
“I read the `screen out’ and it was right there,” Sponsel said. “Once I got the ball, I thought they were going to catch me. Our defense was awesome today.”
Fremd opened the scoring in the first quarter on a Brady Ciancio 43-yard run. Benet broke through in the fourth to even the score on Josh Akin’s 35-yard pass to Eamon Donaghue.
“We saw it was open on the previous play, and we thought we could hit it,” Benet coach Gary Goforth said about the last play. “So we called (it), and this time there was a white shirt that unfortunately wasn’t there on the previous play.”
Argo 37, Taft 6: Eric Foster’s 59-yard touchdown run 5 minutes into the game sparked a 30-point first half for Argo. Foster gained 100 yards on nine carries to lead the victors.
Carver 42, Harlan 0: Carver cruised as Rodney Donley rushed for 177 yards and QB Germaine Robinson completed 14 of 17 passes for 177 yards and three TDs.
De La Salle 18, St. Laurence 6: Ray Boyd gained 109 yards on 26 carries and scored a 5-yard touchdown for De La Salle. Jonathan Cox added a 50-yard TD run, and Tom Ruswick connected with Mutar Thomas for a 17-yard touchdown reception. Joe Martinez rushed 20 times for 131 yards, including a 57-yard scoring run, to lead St. Laurence.
Driscoll 49, Elmwood Park 26: Richie Gaspari (13 of 17, 165 yards) tossed an 18-yard touchdown pass to Pat Arlis and then added a 12-yard TD strike to Scott Carlson as Driscoll led 35-7 at half.
East Chicago Central 40, Rich East 27: East Chicago trailed 27-16 at the half but scored 24 unanswered points for the victory. Rich East missed two-way player Richard McNutt because of a foot infection.
Gordon Tech 38, Fenger 12: Jason Labus returned an interception 17 yards for a touchdown and added a 16-yard TD run for Gordon. David Logan had scoring runs of 25 and 30 yards for the Rams.
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Hinsdale South 34, St. Patrick 25: Hinsdale South trailed 25-24 heading into the fourth quarter but pulled out the victory with Jason Petracek’s 32-yard field goal with 8:56 to go and Jeff Coole’s TD on a 22-yard run. St. Patrick’s Forest Daniels rushed for 236 yards and one TD on 36 carries.
Holy Cross 52, Prosser 6: Junior tailback Marcus Coleman had 405 yards of total offense and scored five touchdowns for Holy Cross. Coleman (seven carries, 143 yards) scored on runs of 28 and 61 yards and added two more TDs on kickoff returns of 80 and 99 yards. His last TD came on a 48-yard punt return.
Hyde Park 48, Austin 0: Maurice Hall scored on touchdown runs of 15 and 39 yards as Hyde Park cruised.
Kelly 18, Roosevelt 14: Kelly prevailed in its opener as Vince Mendoza scored on runs of 1, 33 and 53 yards and had 152 yards on 17 carries for the game.
Maine East 28, Morton 3: Nick Bassler threw a 54-yard touchdown pass to Justin Bates and scored on a 38-yard quarterback keeper. Eric Porter added touchdown runs of 5 and 7 yards for Maine East.
Marmion 35, Evergreen Park 13: Kyle Saltijeral threw touchdown passes of 10 and 11 yards and scored on a 2-yard quarterback keeper as Marmion rolled. Tom Koutsos added two 6-yard TD runs for the Cadets.
Memphis (Tenn.) Melrose 46, Dunbar 22: Melrose outscored Dunbar 23-0 in the second half for the victory. Matthew Stevenson completed 12 of 24 passes for 132 yards and five TDs for Melrose. Host Dunbar was led by Derek Bonaparte, who was 7 of 23 for 75 yards, and Rashawn Harvey, who had five receptions for 66 yards.
Niles North 22, Schurz 14: Raqaq Alebiosi ran 25 times for 134 yards, scoring twice, and Joel Russell added a 17-yard touchdown reception for Niles North.
North Shore Country Day 32, Beloit (Wis.) Catholic 8: Freshman fullback Joe Kim ran for three scores for North Shore.
Ridgewood 41, Westinghouse 14: Sam Palazzo scored five of the Rebels’ six touchdowns on runs of 3, 6, 7, 9 and 9 yards.
St. Joseph 33, Crane 14: Keith Perry rushed for 163 yards and scored five touchdowns for St. Joseph.
St. Francis 49, Luther South 6: Dino Mattioda scored on runs of 5, 14 and 41 yards for St. Francis.
St. Rita 29, Morgan Park 12: Nick Stroccia threw touchdown passes to Ade Adeyamo and Dan Camer, and Kevin Fangerow and Jim Sustek rushed for two more scores for the Mustangs.
Thornwood 47, Phillips 0: The Thunderbirds routed Phillips as Darnell Williams scored on runs of 2, 19 and 34 yards, and Quincy Gaines rushed for 3- and 4-yard touchdowns.
Walther Lutheran 33, Richmond-Burton 18: Terry Doyle scored two touchdowns and rushed for 82 yards to lift the Broncos. Anthony Bell caught three passes for 89 yards and a touchdown and had interception returns of 58 and 90 yards.