Senior linebacker Noah Taylor heard a lot of praise for Lemont’s offense heading into the season but felt like the defense was overlooked.
Taylor, a North Dakota State recruit, is out to show people what he can do — and what his teammates can do — to shut down the opposition.
“There were a lot of questions about the defense coming into the year,” Taylor said. “We definitely took that personally. We’ve all stepped up, and I think we’re doing awesome.”
Taylor had a two sacks to lead the defense Friday night as host Lemont rolled to a 42-0 victory over Oak Forest in both teams’ South Suburban Blue opener.
“We came out and got the shutout in the end,” Taylor said. “That felt good.”
Payton Salomon had a huge night for Lemont (3-0, 1-0), completing 19 of 22 passes for 307 yards and five touchdowns. Luke Wallace made six catches for 126 yards and two TDs, while Ryan Koehler hauled in seven catches for 87 yards and two TDs.
Tyler Gentile led Oak Forest (1-2, 0-1) with four catches for 65 yards and added 55 yards rushing on six carries. Matt Sheehy threw for 71 yards.
Taylor is playing linebacker for Lemont after spending the last two seasons at safety, where he is expected to return in college.
“I played linebacker my freshman year and this year I moved back there one last time,” Taylor said. “I just like being in the box, making all the tackles and having a good time.
“It’s definitely faster. From safety, you can see the whole field. At linebacker, you have to read your keys and stay home.”
Lemont coach Bret Kooi is happy to utilize Taylor all over the field.
“Noah can play a little bit of everywhere,” Kooi said. “He does a good job everywhere. We have some things he can do for us offensively, too.”
Salomon has had full confidence in Taylor and the rest of the defense from day one.
“I’ve always had faith in my defense,” Salomon said. “I’ve always known Noah was going to get the job done for us. I’ve watched him get the job done since sixth grade.
“He’s my buddy. I already knew he was going to pull through.”
With Lemont coming off last week’s huge win over Nazareth and a strong opening victory against Libertyville, Salomon was a bit concerned about a letdown.
He felt the offense was sluggish at the start Friday, but Lemont still scored touchdowns on its first four possessions.
“We knew if we did our thing and clicked offensively, we’d be rolling,” Salomon said. “I think mentally we came out slow. It took us a bit to get going, but then when we did, we were rolling.”
Salomon spread the ball around, throwing TD passes of 10 and 49 yards to Wallace, 23 yards to Nathan Kunickis, 35 yards to AJ Carlson and 37 yards to Koehler.
Kunickis, who is the backup quarterback in addition to playing receiver, added a 14-yard TD pass to Koehler.
Nevan Bufka had an interception for Lemont.
While Salomon had a blast piling up points, he also enjoyed seeing his defense dominate.
“I love watching those guys,” Salomon said. “When they’re out there, I’m running around. I’m in their face. I pick them up, they pick me up. We’re one big family.”
Taylor is ready to keep the momentum rolling.
“We have a bunch of young guys out here and I’m just trying to get them to relax, fly around and have fun,” Taylor said. “We’re having fun so far.
“We had a great week this week, and now we’re looking for a great week next week.”
Steve Millar is a freelance reporter for the Daily Southtown.