Athletic Niles West too much for Maine West
Coming into Friday night’s game with Niles West, Maine West coach Chris Hare knew his squad was up against an athletic team and talked about how difficult it was to simulate that kind of speed in practice.
And after Niles West built a 40-6 halftime lead and eventually won 53-6 in the Central Suburban crossover, Hare echoed those same sentiments.
“They have a nice squad with good speed and athleticism,” said Maine West coach Chris Hare. “That’s a very good team.”
Niles West (3-0) wasted no time sprinting to an early lead. Jeremiah Jordan had a 37-yard run on the third play from scrimmage and eventually scored from 16 yards out less than 2 minutes into the game.
After a Maine West 3-and-out, Wolves quarterback Mike McGivern found Jordan for another 16-yard touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 7:46 left in the first quarter.
“We wanted to go for it right away,” Jordan said. “Our coach (Scott Baum) told us to come out with the same intensity as we did last week. We have to come out like that every game.”
Maine West (0-3) had plenty of success moving the ball as they finished with 270 yards rushing, led by junior quarterback Matt Swanson’s 106 on 24 carries. But the Warriors had difficulty holding onto the ball, losing 3 of their 5 fumbles.
“We moved the ball pretty well and got hurt with a fumble here or there,” Hare said. “Swanson did an awesome job reading the plays. We just have to put the ball in the end zone more and stop them more.”
Even though the Niles West defense knew where the ball was most likely going, Swanson ran the triple option with a lot of success and helped set up holes for John Manicke (16 carries, 83 yards).
“He does a great job controlling this offense,” Hare said Swanson. “He calls the plays at the line and checks to where we gotta be to get the right play. He’s one of the smartest quarterbacks that I’ve ever coached.”
Manicke had 24 yards rushing on a 5 minute, 12 play drive in the second quarter that ended with a 7-yard touchdown run by Matt Romano, narrowing the deficit to 27-6.
But behind McGivern (16-for-20, 149 yards, 3 TD), Niles West scored on their first 7 possessions.
Joe Marella had 49 yards rushing for the Warriors after taking over at quarterback in the fourth quarter.