Here’s how Chicagoland high school football teams fared in Week 6 of play.
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Brother Rice 35, Mount Carmel 24
Senior receiver Anthony Cartolano came through with three catches for 80 yards Friday night, including a huge 20-yard touchdown grab that sparked host Brother Rice on its way to a 35-24 Catholic League Blue upset of Mount Carmel in Chicago.
Geneva 56, Batavia 49
For a game where an elite quarterback matchup was the selling point, who knew the deciding pass from Geneva’s Ben Peterson would be the one that traveled the least amount of distance?
The Eastern Michigan-bound Peterson and Wyoming recruit Michael Vander Luitgaren went back and forth, but it was Peterson lofting a screen pass to Nelson Wendell that made the difference.
That 49-yard touchdown pass with 1:04 left in the fourth quarter Friday night gave Geneva a 56-49 DuKane Conference win at Batavia, the highest-scoring game in the 108 years of the rivalry.
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Oak Lawn 21, Evergreen Park 14
To say that senior running back Jayden Schlosser is almost unstoppable for Oak Lawn would be an understatement. He will go through a brick wall if it means an extra yard or a first down.
“Pain is nothing,” he said. “I knew the whole team was looking and the moment was called upon me. Ever since I stepped into high school my freshman year, I was built for this.”
Schlosser definitely got the job done Friday night, rushing for 111 yards and scoring a touchdown to rally Oak Lawn to a 21-14 South Suburban Red victory in overtime over host Evergreen Park.
Sandburg 21, Lincoln-Way Central 17
The long right arm of Kendall McDowell came in handy for Sandburg.
The senior receiver made a game-winning, one-handed catch on fourth-and-goal for the Eagles in the closing seconds — and much to the delight of senior quarterback Sean Ruisz.
“I thought I missed him by a mile,” Ruisz said of McDowell. “Then I saw that white glove reach out and the ball sticking to his hand. There was a big amount of relief that ran through my body.”
That 3-yard touchdown reception with 13 seconds left brought relief to Sandburg, which slipped past Lincoln-Way Central 21-17 in a SouthWest Suburban Conference nail-biter in Orland Park.
Warren 49, Zion-Benton 6
Warren junior running back Jonathan Randolph is learning that being successful is preferable to envisioning such success.
The 5-foot-8 Randolph ran to daylight for a 67-yard touchdown run and also scored on 1-yard and 30-yard runs during Warren’s 49-6 North Suburban Conference win over Zion-Benton in Gurnee.
Naperville Central 36, Metea Valley 29
Naperville Central junior Mark Williams has a simple approach to playing wide receiver.
“Honestly, I just try to make a play for the ball,” he said. “I don’t look at anything else but the ball. Whether it’s too high, too low, I always make the catch.”
Good luck catching Williams, who has the wheels to quickly turn a short pass into a long gain.
That’s what happened late in the third quarter on Friday. Naperville Central senior quarterback Simon Hayes threw a short pass to Williams, who slipped past a tackler and raced 55 yards for the touchdown that put the Redhawks ahead of visiting Metea Valley to stay in their 36-29 DuPage Valley Conference victory at Memorial Stadium.
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Wheaton Warrenville South 21, Wheaton North 16
Wheaton is famous for being Red Grange’s hometown, but the crosstown rivalry game on Friday looked more like a Dick Butkus or Mike Singletary type of contest for a while.
Behind junior quarterback AJ Rogers, Wheaton Warrenville South changed that in the second half against Wheaton North.
“We knew they were dropping deep, and I was forcing stuff I didn’t need to force,” Rogers said. “In the second half, I took what they gave me, so I took my checkdowns, and we were able to move the ball.”
Rogers completed just 5 of 12 pass attempts for 41 yards with an interception in the first half, but he was perfect on seven throws after halftime to lead the Tigers to a 21-16 road win over the previously unbeaten Falcons.
Crown Point 28, Valparaiso 14
According to Crown Point’s roster, AJ Summers is an “athlete.” The tag is fitting for the 6-foot-2, 200-pound sophomore, who runs — and throws, by the way — as a quarterback and plays linebacker.
“There’s not a better football player in this area than him,” Crown Point coach Craig Buzea said. “You’re talking about stats and doing this, this guy’s playing (Class) 6A football, he’s playing defense the whole time, and he’s playing quarterback part time. You tell me another 6A guy that does that. It’s unheard of.”
Passing wouldn’t appear to be Summers’ favorite thing, but he did it effectively, in addition to carrying the ball and holding down his usual spot on defense, during Crown Point’s 28-14 Duneland Athletic Conference victory at Valparaiso on Friday night.