Vernon Hills' quick start subdues Buffalo Grove
By the time Buffalo Grove caught its collective breath, the Bison were staring down a three-score deficit.
And Vernon Hills' defense made that kind of point differential insurmountable.
Scoring 28 unanswered, including 21 points off of 3 interceptions, the host Cougars capped the nonconference slate with a 31-7 win at Rust-Oleum Field.
"We felt that we didn't play real well last week on defense, so we wanted to come out and prove a point right off the get-go," said Vernon Hills coach Bill Bellecomo. "I loved the way the kids were playing, down the field and fast. They got us a quick start and that's crucial."
A Drew Winegardner interception on the first play from scrimmage set the tone. The return of all-conference senior Kyle Hull in his first snaps of the season quickly followed, as he took a short run into the end zone, then added a 16-yard touchdown strike to Max Lyle for a 14-0 edge.
Moments later, the Cougars (3-1, 0-0) struck again with Kyle Perlin snagging a throw from Bison signal-caller Connor Adams, who was staring down a sack, with a 20-yard race to paydirt.
"I saw the quarterback going down and came up to him, caught it and took it in," Perlin said.
The Vernon Hills offense, on the other hand, was unable to follow its hot start as Hull tossed two picks of his own in the opening half. Unlike the Cougars, Buffalo Grove (1-3, 0-0) couldn't find a break after turnovers in the early stanzas.
"Vernon Hills did a great job capitalizing on the turnovers where we didn't," said Buffalo Grove coach Jeff Vlk. "They're a well-coached team. We made some mistakes early and that cost us."
When the second half resumed, the Cougars' defense kept the pressure on. Andrew Smith reeled off the team's third interception and raced 50 yards to set up the offense.
Hull landed a 17-yard strike with Jeff Rosenstock, then placed a perfect ball to Chris Mariella in the corner of the end-zone for a 28-0 lead.
But all wasn't perfect for the senior, who tossed two more interceptions in his first outing - the latter of which provided Buffalo Grove's lone points as John Pontarelli charged the football and raced 75 yards to the house.
"The game's real quick for him right now," Bellecomo said of Hull. "Everybody else is in week four, he's in week one. He brings legs and a good arm. We kind of knew going in the speed of the game was going to be quick for him. Things will slow down for him. It was good to get him out here and get him some reps in a game we were playing real well on defense."
The Cougars added three more points in the fourth quarter as Andre Szmyt kicked in a 34-yarder to cap the game's scoring.
For Vernon Hills, Hull finished with 120 yards on a 13 of 19 game with the two scores and four picks passing, adding 38 yards and the early touchdown on a ground, whereas Lyle combined for 60 yards of offense with a score.
Defensively, Jimmy Trieb, Cam Adams and Tom Trieb each an interception for Buffalo Grove, which saw solid numbers in the passing game from Adams, who finished 16 of 24 for 163 yards with the two interceptions. Matthew Majeski was 2-for-4 for 48 yards and a third-quarter pick.
On the ground, however, the Bison were held to minus-17 yards going into league play.
"We're excited to get after some teams we're a little more familiar with," Vlk added. "When you play a Vernon Hills and a Deerfield it's great, but they're opponents you're not familiar with."
Vernon Hills opens league play with Deerfield, while Buffalo Grove returns to the road next Friday at Prospect.