Here’s how Chicagoland high school football teams fared in Week 5 of play.
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Nazareth 17, Providence 7
Providence senior Broden Mackert ran for 119 yards on 18 carries Friday night, including a 23-yard touchdown run as the Celtics tried to rally in the fourth quarter, but four turnovers proved costly.
In the first game since coach Tyler Plantz was fired, Providence dropped a 17-7 decision to host Nazareth in a Catholic League crossover game in LaGrange Park.
Lincoln-Way East 38, Sandburg 17
Lincoln-Way East’s Jayden Cawthon wasn’t about to make the same mistake twice.
Cawthon, a senior receiver and kick return specialist, will probably laugh about it someday. But he actually got his directions mixed up, taking an erroneous turn that led to nowhere.
“On the first kickoff, I ran completely the wrong way and that was on me,” Cawthon said with a smile. “The second time, I saw a hole and took it back and I was able to get a really nice gain.”
Cawthon set up his own touchdown catch with a 54-yard kickoff return, sparking Lincoln-Way East’s comeback in a 38-17 SouthWest Suburban Conference win over host Sandburg in Orland Park.
Batavia 55, St. Charles North 35
Batavia decided to open Friday night’s game with some fireworks.
On the very first play, Wyoming-bound quarterback Michael Vander Luitgaren threw deep and found Brennon Zeng for a 58-yard touchdown. Then the Bulldogs went right back on offense after recovering their own onside kick.
Batavia eventually sprinted to a 36-0 lead in the second quarter, at which point St. Charles North put together the scrappiest performance you’ll ever see by a team about to be hit with a running clock.
Senior quarterback Landon Conroy dodged rushers, revved up his arm and brought the North Stars within 14 points early in the fourth quarter before Batavia held on for a 55-35 victory.
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West Aurora 60, Elgin 0
The last thing any player wants is to be a backup like West Aurora’s Tyler Fecht was last season. But this year, the senior is the team’s starting quarterback.
Fecht had a star performance Friday night in his new role, completing 7 of 8 passes for 105 yards and three touchdowns for the host Blackhawks in a 60-0 Upstate Eight Conference win over Elgin.
Naperville North 41, Metea Valley 3
Naperville North’s John Lyons thought he had it all figured out. He was going to be a baseball star.
But after leaving the diamond behind, Lyons became a dominant force on the gridiron. The second-year starting linebacker was an all-conference selection last season and has really turned it up a notch as a senior.
On Friday, Lyons had a team-high seven tackles and a sack during the Huskies’ 41-3 DuPage Valley Conference win over host Metea Valley in Aurora.
Wauconda 48, Grayslake North 14
Wauconda sophomore Colton Zak’s varsity football career is all of five games old. But watching the 5-foot-10, 185-pound Zak play, however, one wouldn’t know it.
Zak’s performance on Friday was quite nice for Wauconda, which toppled previously unbeaten Grayslake North 48-14 in a Northern Lake County Conference game. He frequently collapsed the pocket around junior quarterback Jaylen Newkirk and scored his first varsity touchdown on a 12-yard dive play late in the third quarter.
Andrean 28, Hobart 10
Andrean wide receiver Stetson Sullivan isn’t the most imposing target. But the 5-foot-7, 155-pound sophomore more than makes up for that in other ways.
“He is one of the smoothest route runners I’ve ever seen,” Andrean coach Chris Skinner said. “Obviously, he puts a lot of time into what he does. He’s quick. He’s shifty. He’s not the biggest kid. But, man, he can run crisp routes, and at the high school level, that matters a lot.”
Sullivan mattered a lot during the visiting 59ers’ 28-10 Northwest Crossroads Conference victory over previously unbeaten Hobart on Friday, making six catches for 79 yards and three touchdowns.
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