Marmion spoils South Elgin's bid for 1st win

What looked like would be a nip-and-tuck battle early took a turn for the worse for the South Elgin Storm football team as it lost 45-12 to the Marmion Academy Cadets Friday night in nonconference action at Millennium Field.

The long night began for the Storm, which was seeking the first varsity win in program history, on the third play of the game when it fumbled a pass play at its own 35-yard line.

The Cadets (1-0) drove inside Storm territory by effectively mixing the running game and passing game as they culminated the drive with a 6 yard touchdown run by Lee Hinterlong for the game's first score.

The Storm (0-1) answered with its own touchdown by quarterback Peter Scaffidi on a 5-yard keeper but would miss the extra point making it 7-6.

The Cadets would then rattle off 38 unanswered points by capitalizing on numerous opportunities at the expense of the Storm.

In the scoring explosion the Cadets received 2 touchdowns apiece from quarter back Ricky Bird and running back Alex Cook.

"It was definitely our offensive line tonight," said Cook. "That's what you expect when you return so many guys at the line positions."

The defense also chimed in with a touchdown by linebacker Jon Weber in the fourth quarter when he intercepted a Scaffidi pass and hauled it back 25 yards for the score.

The Storm found its offense stymied until late in the fourth quarter when Scaffidi found Josh Smith for a 42 yard score.

"Our defense got us four turnovers tonight and did their best to keep us in the game," said Storm coach Dale Schabert. "We just didn't do the job on offense."

For Marmion coach Dan Thorpe it was a gratifying start to the season.

"We have a multiple option offense in the fact that we can both pass and run," said Thorpe. "Add in a bend but don't break mentality on defense and I think that makes us a pretty good team."