Oak Park-River Forest’s Sam Francis made a number of plays on defense Friday night against Downers Grove North, but none was as meaningful as his fumble recovery in the second quarter.
He jumped on a muffed punt by the Trojans after it had slipped through many sets of hands, but he managed to corral the ball at the Downers North 9-yard line.
One play later, Huskies running back Eddie Gorens dashed into the end zone and they never looked back.
They scored on six straight possessions en route to a 44-20 West Suburban Silver victory in Oak Park.
Before Francis pounced on the fumble, Oak Park-River Forest (5-0, 3-0) held a slim 7-6 lead when it punted the ball back to the Trojans (2-3, 0-3).
“I saw him muff it and I thought Sean Woods was going to grab it, but he ended up hitting it further (down the field),” Farmer said. “So we kept the ball alive and I just saw it and jumped on it.
“The coaches always talk about being around the football; when you run to the football, good things happen. We just try to get to the ball, we do pursuit drills in practice.
“It definitely gave us a big (momentum) swing. Our offense punched it in for us, and we did pretty well from there on out.”
OPRF coach John Hoerster knew he could count on Francis, a 5-foot-11 outside linebacker, to pursue the ball. Hoerster has seen it before, including on a tape he shows college recruiters.
“The best play on his highlight tape was from a few weeks back,” Hoerster said. “He was making a play in the backfield and then he runs down a receiver from behind 50 yards away. He has so much heart and determination.
“You know when he is on the field he is going to be working as hard as he can. He is getting absolutely everything out of his ability. He is such a great vocal leader and leader by example.”
Game notes
Oak Park hit for big plays on offense, both through the air and on the ground.
Senior running back Jamarri Watson caught a 52-yard touchdown pass on the first offensive series for the Huskies, while also adding a 16-yard scoring run in the opening minute of the fourth quarter.
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“That first touchdown, we were talking about it all week; there was not going to be a safety over me,” Watson said. “We ran that play just for me, so I was open and they gave it to me. The other touchdown, that was just amazing blocking.”
Jeremy Hunt also tossed a TD pass to Davion Talbert, and running back Antonio Cannon scored on a 48-yard run.
Cannon finished with 108 rushing yards on just eight carries, while Hunt completed 13-of-24 passes for 159 yards.
“We knew coming into the season that a lot of guys were going to have to step up,” Hoerster said. “What has been so exciting is that so many guys have; we have so many guys we can go to.”