Warren hasn’t needed to throw the ball much this season, not with do-it-all running back Matt Van Daele carrying the offensive load. So when quarterback C.J. Feller was called upon to throw early and often against Antioch Saturday, it took the junior a while to get going.
OK it was more like the entire first half. But once Feller found his rhythm, so did the Blue Devils’ stagnant offense, helping Warren turn a scoreless first half into a 28-7 homecoming victory in a pivotal North Suburban Lake Conference game.
Feller, who threw two interceptions and completed 2-of-10 passes for 34 yards in the first half, had a complete turnabout in the last two quarters. He completed all five of his attempts, including touchdown passes of 55 and 27 yards, for 153 yards in the second half.
“I was so nervous,” said Feller, whose 55-yard touchdown pass to Paul Dubler with 9 minutes 10 seconds left in the third was his first varsity TD pass of his career. “I just tensed up. But once we got going, I let it loose.”
Antioch (5-3, 2-2) tied the game 7-7 on Eric White’s 13-yard TD run on a reverse, but Warren (7-1, 3-1), which was coming off last week’s loss to Libertyville, broke the game open with three consecutive touchdowns. Feller’s 27-yard touchdown pass to sophomore Tyler Smith made it 21-7 with less than two minutes gone by in the fourth quarter.
Van Daele, as usual, did his part. The senior scored on touchdown runs of 23 and 30 yards in the second half, and finished with 147 yards in 20 carries. All four of Warren’s touchdowns were on third-and-long plays.
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Warren, vying for the conference championship, gained 116 yards in the first half, but were penalized for 65. For the game the Blue Devils were flagged 12 times for 118 yards. Besides the penalties, Antioch’s Ari Brown was the root of many of Warren’s struggles in the first half. Brown recorded two interceptions and caught five passes for 89 yards. He finished with 117 yards in seven receptions.
“That was as off-balanced of an offense as we’ve had all season,” Warren coach Dave Mohapp said. “Luckily we were able to settle down.”
Sean Duncan
Schaumburg 23, Hoffman Estates 10: Tom Bart had six receptions for 79 yards and two touchdowns as the No. 4 Saxons scored all its points in the second quarter of the Mid-Suburban West contest. Steve Kolodziej was 12-of-19 passing for 165 yards for Schaumburg.
John Janczak had three catches for 75 yards to lead Hoffman Estates (4-4, 2-2).
Maine South 40, Glenbrook South 7: Quarterback Shawn Kain scored two rushing touchdowns as the No. 8 Hawks (8-0, 4-0) won easily in the Central Suburban South. Chris Fosco ran for 70 yards and a touchdown for Maine South.
Downers Grove South 52, Morton 0: Jay Moore rushed for 126 yards in 12 carries and five touchdowns–all in the first half–as the No. 14 Mustangs (7-1, 5-0) romped in the West Suburban Gold.
“His motor runs all the time,” Downers South coach John Belskis said about Moore. “All the great players don’t have an on-off switch, they’re on all the time and that’s what Jay does.”
Prairie Ridge 58, Crystal Lake South 27: Joe Ure gained 183 yards in 17 carries and scored four touchdowns as the No. 15 Wolves (7-1, 7-1) won the Fox Valley game.The Wolves rushed for 503 yards in 52 carries.
“[Prairie Ridge is] a bigger, stronger, faster team,” Crystal Lake South coach Jim Stuglis said. “The bottom line is that they’re just better. They’re the biggest team in the conference. They open up big holes.”
Dunbar 56, Hyde Park 6: The No. 17 Mighty Men (6-2, 4-1) rolled in the Public Illini South. With the victory Dunbar tied Morgan Park for the conference title.
Addison Trail 28, Glenbard West 14: Bill Brechin threw two touchdown passes and ruhsed for two scores for the Blazers (6-2). Brechin was 10-of-20 passing for 214 yards and rushed for 63 yards in 10 attempts.
Aurora Central Catholic 38, St. Edward 0: Dan Moore ran for 127 yards in 17 attempts and three touchdowns for the Chargers (3-5, 1-5) in the Suburban Catholic.
Austin 44, Juarez 0: Dallas Johns scored two touchdowns to lead the Tigers (5-3, 5-1) in the Chicago Public West.
Barrington 14, Palatine 11: Collier Bern was 11-of-14 passing for 144 yards and two touchdowns for Barrington (3-5, 1-3) in the Mid-Suburban West.
Bogan 44, Fenger 8: Sean Jaudon rushed for 145 yards in 14 carries and scored three touchdowns as the Bengals (4-4, 3-3) rolled in the Public Chicago South.
Brother Rice 21, De La Salle 19: In the Catholic Metro Blue, Kevin Gilmartin rushed for two touchdowns and threw for another for De La Salle (3-5, 1-5) in a losing cause. Rice improved to 3-5, 2-4.
Chicago Christian 49, Aurora Christian 16: Mark Hamstra rushed for 205 yards in 21 carries and scored seven first-half touchdowns for the Knights (6-2, 2-2) in the Private School League. Hamstra scored on runs of 50, 18, 6, 5, 12, 18, and 55 yards.
Curie 31, Lindblom 0: Terrence Williams rushed for 147 yards in 15 carries and three touchdowns as the Condors (8-0, 5-0) wrapped up the Public Illini Southwest season unbeaten. Williams scored on runs of 7, 13 and 1.
Deerfield 14, Highland Park 7: Kyle Gessert threw a 71-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Gessert and a 3-yard touchdown pass to John Norris for Deerfield (6-2, 4-0) in the Central Suburban North..
Driscoll 27, Immaculate Conception 8: Matt Butler was 6-of-9 passing for 107 yards and three touchdowns for the Highlanders (7-1, 5-1) in the Suburban Catholic.
Farragut 26, Lake View 22: Floyd Williams was 11-of-18 passing for 338 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Admirals (2-6, 2-4) in the Public Chicago West.
Grant 35, Round Lake 8: Chris Dennis, who rushed for 75 yards in 16 attempts, scored four touchdowns to lead the Bulldogs (5-3, 3-1) in the North Suburban Prairie.
Kaneland 41, Westmont 0: David Issel rushed for two touchdowns and threw two touchdown pass for Kaneland (8-0, 6-0) in the Suburban Prairie White.
Kelvyn Park 14, Prosser 8 (OT): Jose Duarte’s 10-yard touchdown run in overtime won it for Kelvyn Park (6-1, 6-0) in the Public Chicago North.
King 36, Corliss 14: Ronald Stewart threw three touchdown passes and rushed for a touchdown for the Jaguars (4-3, 4-2) in the Public Chicago South.
Lane Tech 20, Mather 6: The Indians (7-1, 5-0 in the Public Illini North) captured their fourth straight conference title behind the play of running backs Gideon Akande and Kenneth Bates.
On the first play of the fourth quarter, with his team leading 7-6, Akande broke off right tackle for a 35-yard score. Akande, who rushed for 125 yards in 20 carries, credited the play of his offensive line.
“Any person would have scored in that situation,” Akande said. “Mather is a quality opponent, usually the best team we play every year. The blocking of our offensive line was just fantastic.”
After a spectacular sideline interception by Lane’s Cesar Velasco, his second of the game, Bates ran 12 yards for the insurance touchdown with seven minutes to play.
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Mather drops to 6-2, 5-1.
Libertyville 21, Lake Forest 7: Quarterback B.J. McCaslin ran for two touchdowns and passed for another for the Wildcats (7-1, 3-1) in the North Suburban Lake. McCaslin was 7-of-13 passing for 62 yards and ran for 48 yards in eight carries.Maine West 34, Niles North 10: Five different players–including two defensive players–scored touchdowns for the Warriors (3-5, 2-2) in the Central Suburban North. Matt Kelley recovered a fumble in the end zone and Ken Warford ran back an interception for another score for Maine West.
Montini 16, St. Francis 0: Kevin Tyrrell tallied 105 yards in 24 carries and a touchdown for Montini (6-2, 5-1) in the Suburban Catholic. Tom Kero scored on 6-yard touchdown and Adam Smith kicked a 23-yard field goal for Montini.
“Our defense was awesome,” Montini coach Chris Andriano said. “We did a great job of executing and we were all over them the entire game.”
St. Francis fell to 7-1, 5-1.
Nazareth 38, Luther North 7: Tim Musachio was 10-of-23 passing for 147 yards and two touchdowns for the Roadrunners (4-4, 4-0). Marc Fitzgibbon had two rushing touchdowns for Nazareth.
New Trier 6, Waukegan 0: Michael Duda’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Bob Teten in the second quarter was all the Trevians (6-2, 5-0) needed in the Central Suburban South. Waukegan drops to 4-4, 2-2.
Niles West 21, Evanston 7: Alex Filin scored on a 40-yard run and a 45-yard reception from Brian Krier for Niles West (4-4, 2-2) in the Central Suburban South.
North Shore Country Day 26, Mooseheart 6: Jordan Fisher had 100 yards in 16 attempts and P.J. Olson scored two rushing touchdowns for North Shore (4-4).
Sandburg 30, Thornwood 14: Joe Wassong rushed for 96 yards in 20 attempts and scored two touchdowns as the Eagles (6-2, 4-2) picked up the SICA Blue victory. Geoff Orr added a 59-yard touchdown run and Rick Kozak fired a 23-yard scoring pass to Justin Malec for Sandburg.
St. Rita 19, Fenwick 12: Michael Boyd and Will Myles each had a rushing touchdown for St. Rita (6-2, 4-2) in the Catholic Metro Blue. St. Rita also blocked a punt in the end zone and recovered for a touchdown.
Walther Lutheran 26, Normal University High 7: Todd Dulaney rushed for three touchdowns for the Broncos (8-0).