Another special performance as Hersey rolls
The Hersey defense and special teams made things easy for the offense Friday night.
Caleb Augustyn scored on an interception and Mantas Konstantino recovered a punt blocked by Luke Cecala in the end zone for a touchdown as the Huskies defeated Niles West 43-3.
"Those are big deals," Hersey coach Joe Pardun said. "We have to make big plays like that. We haven't done that for a while. It was good to see us make some big plays like that, and score on defense."
In the first half, the Hersey offense conducted only three drives, mainly due to the fact the defense and special teams kept scoring and had to stay on the field.
"We are just doing our best at all times," Augustyn said. "We put points on the board last week and tonight. I think that is the key."
For the second straight week Hersey struggled to score near the goal line, turning the ball over on downs. Fortunately for the Huskies they have Augustyn. A week ago, against Highland Park, he had a safety, and on Friday he ran back an interception for a touchdown.
"Caleb works his tail off," Pardun said. "He has to work for everything. … He earned those type of plays with his work ethic."
Augustyn had the Huskies' lone takeaway, despite Niles West putting the ball on the ground five times.
The only points Hersey allowed came on a 17-yard field goal by Lucian Cretu in the second quarter.
Niles West (0-4) struggled to the move the ball all game with the defensive front putting plenty of pressure on quarterback Will Shemroske. Colton Kamysz had 2 sacks, Nick Steger and Dylan Riley each had one, and Konstantino and Bobby Baratta combined for another.
Hersey improves to 3-1 on the season, matching its win total from a year ago. The magic number for the Huskies offense is 40, in that they have scored at least 40 points each of their three victories. In those games, the Hersey defense has allowed no more than one scoring play.
"We are just playing together as a team this year and it feels great to finally be rolling teams," Cecala said.
Throughout this season, Owen Goldsberry has been a major part of the Hersey offense. After carrying the ball 27 times and throwing it 12 times a week ago, he had a lighter load this week with 12 carries for 124 yards and a touchdown, while adding 11 passes for 48 yards.
His lack of offense wasn't due to his lack of performance, but because everyone else was making plays around him. Goldsberry was allowed to leave the game with his team leading by 40 with a little more than two minutes left in the third quarter.
Cecala averaged 11.6 yards per rush, including 2 touchdowns. He totaled 70 yards rushing. Kacper Rutkiewicz added 32 yards rushing on two carries, including a 25-yard touchdown. He also had a pair of receptions for 29 yards.
Hersey will look to pick up its fourth win next week in Mid-Suburban East play against Elk Grove, while Niles West takes on New Trier.
"We are just executing and doing our job, playing as a team," Cecala said. "We have never played this well as an offense as long as I've been here."