Being a quarterback in South Elgin’s triple-option scheme demands toughness because that player is going to get hit.
Jacob Sullivan, a 6-foot, 191-pound junior, likes to take on that challenge head-on. What he adds to the mix, however, is a strong arm to keep defenses honest.
“You have to respect the triple option,” Sullivan said. “When you don’t, we just run it hard. When you do, people are open. It’s a very intricate offense.”
The Storm dominated on the ground as they usually do during Friday’s 47-12 Upstate Eight Conference victory over Larkin, but Sullivan also threw four touchdown passes.
“It’s such an advantage, because when it’s executing on all cylinders like it was at times (Friday), the defense will suck in,” Sullivan said. “That’s why I threw four touchdowns.”
South Elgin coach Dragan Teonic doesn’t take the advantage he has for granted.
“In this instance, Larkin was using their safeties to fill up on the run with the option game,” Teonic said. “That opens up some opportunities down the field, and Jake hit them.”
South Elgin (4-0, 4-0) took a 14-6 lead in the first quarter on a 14-yard TD run by Mason Montgomery and a 1-yard TD run by Ari Kravis. The Storm then started looking to the air.
Sullivan hit Kyle Steinhofer with a 14-yard strike for his first TD with 9:57 left in the second quarter.
The Storm’s next three TDs all came through the air. Sullivan sandwiched TD passes of 10 and 19 yards to Montgomery around a 40-yard scoring strike to Steinhofer.
Sullivan ended up completing 8 of 15 passes for 122 yards.
“A lot of triple-option teams will focus so much on the run,” Sullivan said. “We really focus on having an open game.
“If we get stopped on the triple option, we know we can go wide and throw the ball. It adds so much to our offense.”
South Elgin did dominate on the ground, however.
The Storm ran for 365 yards and three TDs on 51 carries. Lucas Norowol and Montgomery each went for over 100 yards — Norowol with 123 and Montgomery with 107.
Jordan Green added a 1-yard TD run.
Larkin (1-3, 1-3) made it a game early on, though.
The Royals forced a 6-6 tie in the first on a 15-yard TD run from Jalen Miller. Miller struck again in the quarter, this time on a 4-yard run, to cut Larkin’s lead to 20-12.
The Royals had a few big plays the rest of the way but weren’t able to slow down South Elgin’s offense to stay in the game.
Tizairan Johnson-Williams threw for 157 yards. Chevelle Clements caught four passes for 107 yards.
Teonic, a former head coach for Larkin, likes what he sees from coach Grant Dietz’s program.
“They’re doing an awesome job putting their guys in position,” Teonic said. “I said — keep your chin up, because they’re in games. You can see improvement. It’s a team on the rise.
“I’ve been there before. I know what it looks like. He’s doing stuff right, and those kids have to continue to believe in what he’s doing because you can see the improvement. It’s tangible.”
South Elgin rolls into homecoming next week against East Aurora with 16 straight home wins.
Teonic will be leaning on Sullivan to continue to add to that total.
“He’s not even come close to his ceiling,” Teonic said. “That’s why we coach him so hard. He craves to be coached hard. He wants to be the best that he can be.
“Jake is so much better than he was as a sophomore, but he’s got a long way to go. That’s what I mean with his ceiling. How good can he get?”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.