Defense does it for Grayslake North
After giving up an average of over 47 points a game for the first five games, host Grayslake North's defense never rested Friday against Crystal Lake Central on homecoming night.
The visiting Tigers did run the ball effectively throughout this Fox Valley Conference contest. But the Tigers were only able to find the end zone on their first possession as the Knights (3-3, 2-1) captured a 21-7 Fox Division victory.
Crystal Lake Central (3-3, 2-2) used a very time-consuming drive to open the game as the Tigers marched 80 yards on 19 plays with junior Vinson May scoring on a 5-yard TD run with 1:58 left in the first quarter.
The extra point by Michael Chen gave CLC a 7-0 lead as the Tigers ground attack chewed up over 10 minutes of clock.
The Knights got a huge 58-yard kickoff return by junior Matt Aikin on the ensuing kickoff as Aikin took the ball down to the CLC 36-yard-line.
Unlike the Tigers, Grayslake North took only one play to find the end zone as junior running back Dami Oladunmoye (148 yards on 18 carries) scored on a 36-yard TD run the first time he touched the football.
Junior Jason Rhodes' extra point deadlocked the score at 7-7 just 17 seconds after CLC had taken its 7-0 lead.
"We didn't give them one chance to celebrate and they had the lead for less than 20 seconds," said Grayslake North coach Steve Wood, whose team only had nine offensive plays to 41 for CLC in the first half. "They're first drive they scored, but we were able to make some adjustments and the defense played really well. We challenged them this week, and I'm really proud of the way they responded."
After stopping the Tigers on a fourth-and-4 from the Knights 13, Grayslake North took over on its own 14 on its second possession.
This time, it only took three plays for the Knights to hit paydirt as Oladunmoye scored on a 72-yard TD run the third time he touched the football. This really shocked CLC as Grayslake North held a 14-7 lead with 7:36 left in the second quarter despite the Tigers completely dominating time of possession in the first half.
"We played hard the whole game, and the offensive line came to play," said Oladunmoye, who had 137 of his 148 yards rushing in the first half. "Our defense has had a rough start to the season. But we had a good week of practice, and they've been playing hard ever since."
Senior Mark Kegermann came up with the defensive play of the game for the Knights as he stopped Tony Flood for a 2-yard loss fourth-and-goal from the half-yard line late in the second quarter.
That crucial defensive stop kept North's 14-7 lead intact at halftime in a first half that only took 53 minutes to play.
"You can't ask for anything more than our effort on our first (offensive) drive," said CLC coach Jon McLaughlin, whose team had 252 yards rushing. "But we had an inconsistent effort on both sides of the ball and the running back they have (Oladunmoye) is fantastic."
The Knights turned the tables in the third quarter as they went on an 80-yard scoring drive of their own with a 41-yard run by Aikin (69 yards on 5 rushes) on the third play putting the ball on the CLC 34-yard-line.
Eight plays later, Aikin ran 5 yards left to the corner of the end zone for the touchdown and a 21-7 lead 4:20 into the second half.
North linebacker Cole Chelius came up with a huge tackle on fourth-and-2 on the Tigers' ensuing possession as CLC had to turn the ball over on downs.
Both teams ran the ball well, but neither could score the rest of the way. The Knights got key fourth-quarter interceptions from Blake Wilshire and Devin Gains to maintain the 14-point lead.
May led the Tigers with 92 yards rushing followed by Flood with 86 yards rushing and Shawn Kyska with 75 yards on the ground. North's Griffin Gawenda rushed for 28 yards on four attempts late in the game.
"We thought we had a chance to blow it open in the second half," said Wood. "But credit to them, they played us tough defensively the rest of the way."