Defense joins the fun as Grayslake North wins by shutout

The numbers the Grayslake North offense has put up so far this season have been staggering.

With the state's leading rusher, Titus Booker, and a host of talented stars on that side of the ball, the Knights have been able simply outscore plenty of foes.

But an occasional pick-me-up from the defense can't hurt.

After a tough loss on the road last week at Crystal Lake Central, the Knights defense did something Friday night in their homecoming contest with visiting Woodstock that they had done just one other time in school history - that is, pitch a shutout.

Woodstock was held to just 192 total yards from scrimmage and 10 first downs as the Knights bounced back with a resounding 42-0 win over the Blue Streaks. The only other shutout North has had in its history came in a 34-0 win over Mendota in 2011.

"You know, Woodstock may be 1-6 but in their last three games they scored like 127 or so points," said Grayslake North coach Steve Wood. "They have been explosive of late, but I thought we controlled their top players and the kids really played well."

Some of the Knights stars on defense included George Deligiannis, Sean Pearce, Bronson Watson, and Jordan Suchowski.

And while they were helping the defense shut down the Woodstock attack, North (4-3, 3-1) was rolling again offensively.

Unlike other recent foes, Woodstock did succeed in taking away the Indiana-bound Booker early. What the Streaks didn't account for was the arm of Knights quarterback Merrick Gentile and the hands and speed of wide receiver Eli Atwater.

In the first quarter, Gentile connected on his first five passes, with a pair going to Atwater. The first came on a fourth-and-goal play from the 18 to put North up 14-0.

The second was a perfectly placed ball to Atwater, who did the rest for an 81-yard scoring play and a 21-0 advantage before the first quarter had ended.

"We knew that (Woodstock) was going to come out aggressive," Gentile said. "They were a good defense and we expected that but we were able to turn plays into touchdowns against them."

Even with Woodstock (1-6, 1-4) loading the box against Booker, they couldn't stop him altogether. Booker rushed for 148 of his 250 yards in the first half, but it was his 73-yard scoring run that pushed the margin over 40 and gave the hosts a running clock on their final home game of the season.

Booker finished with 250 yards rushing on 24 carries, with three of those touches going for scores. He now has 1,524 yards rushing on the season to go with his 19 touchdowns.

Gentile also connected with Brad Baker near the end of the first half for his third scoring pass from 13 yards out.