Bradley, Conant pass up Schaumburg
Conant quarterback Kyle Bradley continues to be the best-kept secret outside of the Northwest suburbs.
Bradley, who came into the game as the area's leading passer, padded those stats quite nicely, throwing for a career-high 400 yards and 4 touchdowns as Conant rolled past Schaumburg 49-14 Friday in Hoffman Estates.
"He has really blossomed into the player we thought he could be," Conant coach Bill Modelski said. "He has really matured. He is in situations that he has seen before.
"This is something he has worked for. And he is pushing all the right buttons right now."
Bradley, who is a senior, had some of those buttons broken last year as he missed part of last season due to injury. But the 6-foot-4, 210- pounder work hard all summer to get ready for the 2015 season.
"I spent a lot of time throwing the ball to Palmer (Graham) and Brandon (Vinson) this past summer," said Bradley, who was 16-for-24 on Friday and did not throw an interception.
"Coach Mo says that I need to focus each week and get better. And that is what I am trying to do. Limit my mistakes and get better."
Despite the fact that Bradley has thrown for over 1,600 yards and and 14 touchdowns and has a very athletic frame, only Army and Valparaiso has expressed an interest in him.
"I still haven't played my best game," Bradley said. "I just have to thank my line and my receivers. They have really helped me to get better."
Both Graham and Vinson have been impressed with their quarterback's play.
"Our chemistry is just getting better and better," said Graham, who entered the game as the area's top receiver. "He just puts the ball where it needs to be and I just go get and run with it after I catch it."
Vinson, who along with Graham play with Bradley compete on Conant's basketball team as well, said that there has been great chemistry among all of them.
"He is a great teammate and a great guy," Vinson said. "I have been working with him since last summer. We just try to get the receivers out and work hard together."
Conant (6-1, 2-1), which clinched a playoff spot with the victory, bounced back very nicely after their disappointing 40-34 loss at Barrington last week and joins the Broncos and Palatine in a three-way tie for the league lead.
Bradley wasn't the only Cougar to post some lofty stats in the game. Graham had his second consecutive 200-yard plus game, catching 5 passes for 219 yards and 3 touchdowns. Running back Jake Jakubosky rushed for 116 yards and also had 3 touchdowns, while Tim Cullen had 4 catches for 111 yards and a touchdown as Conant amassed 545 yards of total offense.
"It was great to bounce back tonight," Modelski said. "We came out with a lot of energy."
That energy translated into Jakubosky touchdowns of 69 and 15 yards as Conant opened up a quick 12-0 lead.
But Schaumburg (4-3, 1-2) has been a team that has battled back in games all year. And the Saxons did just that, thanks to a 14-yard touchdown run by Emanuel Little (23 carries, 134 years) and 4-yard run by Olijah Sally to put Schaumburg up 14-12 with 9:49 left in the first half.
But it was all Conant from there.
Bradley threw TD passes of 61, 44 and 83 yards to Graham along with a 22-yarder to Cullen. He also threw conversion passes to Graham and Adam Shymanik. Jakubosky also had a 1-yard scoring plunge as Conant scored 37 unanswered points.
"We talk about playing Scahumburg football," Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling said. "And we just didn't do that tonight. They are a heck of a good football team."