No one had to tell Flynn Nagel about the rivalry between Lemont and Oak Forest.
Nagel, who transferred to Lemont after playing three years at Marist, played as if he had experienced it all along.
The Duke recruit scored four touchdowns, including three in the first quarter, to help lead the Indians to a 42-20 road victory Friday night.
“Back when my brothers played here it was a huge rivalry, and the guys on the team … told me it was going to get crazy,” Nagel said.
Ryan Dawson hit Nagel on fades of 20 and 6 yards to the left corner of the end zone, and Nagel (9 catches, 169 yards) also ran 12 yards for another score as Lemont (4-0, 2-0 South Suburban Blue) took a 21-0 lead in the first.
“It felt good. The quarterback was getting the ball to the right spot, the O-line was blocking, and when everybody does their job on offense I think we’re going to be real destructive,” Nagel said.
After Oak Forest (3-1, 1-1) pulled to within 28-20 on a 69-yard run by Nick Czeszewski with 3 minutes, 40 seconds left in the third, the Indians put the game away on scoring passes 56 yards to Nagel and 3 yards to Jimmy Kepouros, the last coming with 7:56 to play in the fourth.
“I can just throw to a random spot and I know that every time he’s going to come down with it,” Dawson said of Nagel.
The fast start helped.
“It was huge,” Dawson said. “Their offense is built around running down the clock, leaving our offense off the field. If we didn’t come out like that, I think the scoreboard might have been a little bit different.”
Player of the game: Flynn Nagel, 9 catches, 169 yards, 3 TDs; 3 carries, 24 yards, TD.
Key performers: Lemont — Ryan Dawson, 16-for-25, 237 yards, 5 TDs; Jimmy Kepouros, 5 catches, 42 yards, 2 TDs. Oak Forest — Nick Czeszewski, 3 carries, 94 yards, TD; JaRon Johnson, 9 carries, 71 yards.