Melvin Pettis made believers out of a lot of people Friday night.
The senior running back totaled 344 yards and scored three touchdowns as Warren pounded its way back into the North Suburban Conference race with a 46-10 win over visiting Lake Forest.
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Pettis took advantage of a physical offensive line, rushing for 228 yards and two touchdowns and returning a kickoff for a third TD. The Blue Devils turned a seven-point game in the third quarter into a runaway after starting the season with three tough losses.
“We’re way better than what we’ve showed, especially with all the work we did over the summer,” Pettis said. “We practiced hard, and eventually the hard work took over.”
“We had confidence coming in,” senior offensive lineman Cameron Shaw said. “We played well last week (a 28-26 loss to Libertyville), and it came over into this week, and things just went in our favor. Everything was going right. The first two games we played well. We just had to keep working hard in practice, and this is what happens.”
Literally from the opening play, it was Warren’s night. Jason Dorsey returned the kickoff 40 yards into Lake Forest territory. Six plays later, Pettis scored from the 1, and the Blue Devils (1-3, 1-1) had their first lead of the game and the season.
The Scouts cut the gap on Jack Brush’s 22-yard field goal. But Pettis returned the ensuing kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown to put Warren up 14-3 early in the second quarter. The Devils upped the lead to two touchdowns shortly before the half when their long drive stalled at the goal line and Brandon Hergenreder delivered on an 18-yard field goal.
Lake Forest (2-2, 0-2) looked to make it a game to start the second half, moving 80 yards quickly and closing to within 17-10 on a 7-yard Bryan Ooms score. Warren, however, came right back with Pettis capping a four-play, 51-yard drive with a 28-yard score.
The Warren defense came up big late in the third, stopping Lake Forest on fourth-and-goal from the 6, and the offense made the Scouts pay. Junior quarterback Ian Schilling, who has been alternating possessions with Luke Schmitt since last week, moved the Devils 96 yards in 14 plays, with Rashad Walker scoring from the 1 to give Warren a 30-10 lead.
Theodor Lowe’s interception turned into another Warren score, with Schmitt delivering a perfect fade to 6-foot-5 Micah Jones for a 37-10 lead. Walker added the final offensive score on a 6-yard run with three minutes remaining.
“This is a really resilient group of kids who worked hard for this,” Warren coach Bryan McNulty said. “We did a lot as a varsity team with these kids, and they really got to know each other. Even when we lost, they never got down. They just figured it was just a matter of time before something like this happened. They just had to keep chipping away, chipping away.”
Carmel 21, Nazareth 10: Rondel Jamison’s two TD runs propelled Carmel (2-2, 1-1 East Suburban Catholic).
Stevenson 48, Mundelein 6: Aidan O’Connell threw four TD passes in one half to lead Stevenson (3-1, 2-0 North Suburban). Anthony Norris contributed a 7-yard scoring run for Mundelein (1-3, 0-2).
Vernon Hills 31, Buffalo Grove 7: Kyle Hull threw for two TDs and ran for a third in sparking Vernon Hills (3-1).
Phil English is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun. Freelancer Josh Krockey contributed.