North Chicago entered Friday night’s Class 6A second-round game fresh off a Nintendo-like offensive output.
No. 6 Carmel’s Corsairs wasted little time bringing North Chicago’s vaunted offense back to earth, bottling up the Warhawks’ running game in the first half and going on to win 35-20 before an overflow crowd in Mundelein.
Carmel (11-0) held North Chicago (8-3) to 65 yards in the first half and led 28-6 at the break after the Corsairs scored two touchdowns in the final 1 minute 1 second of the second quarter. North Chicago, which racked up 661 yards of offense in a 44-14 first-round victory over Glenbard South, finished with 265 yards against the Corsairs.
“We wanted to show them that our defense has just as good athletes as they do,” said senior linebacker Nathan Duprey. “We wanted to stick it to them.”
Five different Corsairs scored touchdowns. Quarterback Mark Venegoni rushed for a 7-yard score late in the first quarter to make it 14-0, and he also connected with Jack Simmons for a 9-yard scoring strike with 9.4 seconds remaining in the first half. The touchdown strike was set up by a fumble on a kickoff after Carmel’s John Popovitch scored on a 6-yard run.
Brandon Ziemann, playing his first game in a month, rushed for 64 yards on six carries, including a 10-yard TD to make it 35-14 with 4:55 left in the fourth.
— Sean Duncan
Richards 46, Ottawa 27
Sophomore Dion Foster put on a dazzling road show as he scored six touchdowns to lead No. 9 Richards to a 46-27 rout of host Ottawa.
The 5-foot-7-inch running back rushed for 346 yards on 21 carries as the No. 9 Bulldogs rolled to their 11th straight win.
Foster scored on first-half touchdown runs of 4, 38 and 71 yards. He opened the second half with a 66-yard touchdown run on the first play from scrimmage, then hauled in a 21-yard scoring pass from quarterback Sean Lewis seven minutes later.
On the opening play of the fourth quarter, Foster wrapped up an eight-play, 60-yard drive with a 3-yard scoring run.
Ottawa (7-4) narrowed the final margin with a pair of fourth-quarter touchdowns, including two drives launched after Bulldogs turnovers.
— Jack McCarthy
T.F. South 53, T.F. North 19
What started as a hotly contested game between District 215 rivals Thornton Fractional South and Thornton Fractional North turned into a blowout for South in the third quarter. That’s when the Rebels scored 24 unanswered points and cruised to an easy victory in Lansing.
No. 15 T.F. South (10-1) advances to the Class 6A quarterfinals and will face SICA Orange nemesis Richards, the only team which has defeated them this season.
Late in the first half T.F. North had the ball and a 13-8 lead. But an interception by Devin Smith set up a 1-yard touchdown run by Pierre Thomas, giving the Rebels a 16-13 halftime lead and the momentum.
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“The Meteors gave us all we can handle in the first half,” T.F. South coach Tom Padjen said. “They were playing with a lot of emotion.”
T.F. North (7-4) tried an onside kick to start the second half, but the Rebels’ Tim Broomhead foiled that plan–picking the ball out of the air at the 50-yard line and went untouched the rest of the way to start the onslaught. From there, Thomas, who finished with 171 yards on 18 carries and four TDs, scored on runs of 1 and 83 yards.
Sophomore Lance Jones ended the scoring for the Rebels with a 98-yard kickoff return, which broke the school record of 96 yards held by Rick Seymour.
— Bill Harrison
Crystal Lake South 28, Freeport 13: Trent Steckel rushed for 153 yards and two touchdowns on 27 carries as the Gators (8-3) knocked off top-seeded Freeport. Brian Marx added 95 yards and two TDs on 19 attempts for C.L. South.
Peter Farr had three sacks to lead the Gators’ defense, which recorded eight sacks.
Adam Schlamp had both touchdowns for Freeport (9-2).
Class 5A
Providence 49, Rich Central 8: Nick Stanton was 10-of-11 passing for 127 yards and four touchdowns as the No. 3 Celtics (11-0) romped. Clay Cleveland ran for 127 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries and also caught a 10-yard TD pass.
Terrell Blackshire scored on a 7-yard run for Rich Central (7-4).
Morris 35, Johnsburg 0: Benjy Kennedy rushed for 80 yards and two touchdowns on eight carries and passed for 101 yards as No. 10 Morris (11-0) cruised. Zach Degrush also had two scores, including one on a 64-yard punt return.
Ryan Stefka had 57 yards on eight attempts to lead Johnsburg (8-3).
Catholic Metro playoffs
Marian Catholic 21, Brother Rice 14: Michael Jedlicka was 10-of-19 passing for 114 yards and rushed for two touchdowns as the Spartans (7-4) held on. Jedlicka’s two touchdowns helped put Marian up 21-0 after the first quarter.
Notre Dame 13, St. Patrick 0: Dan Bukal passed for a touchdown and rushed for another as the Dons (6-5) advanced. Bukal’s 30-yard TD pass to Bill DeSario with 3:15 left in the third quarter put Notre Dame on the board. Bukal’s 3-yard scoring run with 1:16 left in the game sealed it.
Public League playoffs
Robeson 16, Julian 14: Jamil Collins rushed for 132 yards and two touchdowns on 29 carries as the Raiders (7-4) tipped Julian. Collins scored on a 33-yard run with 4:43 left to put Robeson ahead.