Roundup: Marsek, Guerrero lead VH in 43-14 rout
When the Vernon Hills Cougars made their 2007 debut Friday night at Niles West's Basrak Field, the spectators weren't the only ones unsure of what to expect.
Coach Tony Monken saw only one offensive starter return from a team that went 5-4 in the 2006 regular season to qualify for the playoffs. This year's squad was going to be led by a first-year varsity quarterback in P.J. Marsek and tailback Larry Guerrero, a senior who saw limited action last year.
Marsek and Guerrero accounted for 345 of Vernon Hills' 480 total yards and scored 24 of the Cougars' points in a 43-14 rout of Niles West.
Marsek rushed for 172 yards on 17 carries, while Guerrero gained 151 yards on 15 attempts.
"We didn't know what we had either," Monken said. "We knew P.J. was explosive, and we knew our tailback had a lot of potential, but we had a lot of unproven things out there."
And when Niles West's Chris Wright took the opening kickoff back 58 yards to the Cougars' 29 and scored two plays later on a touchdown pass from quarterback Nick Gremley, Vernon Hills' young offense needed to prove some things in a hurry.
"We knew we would rebound," Marsek said. "We have a really good defense, and we made one mistake (on the kickoff coverage)."
On the Cougars' first possession of the game, Marsek showed adeptness at running the option, picking up 25 yards on 2 carries, while Guerrero capped the drive with a 29-yard run after breaking free on a run off tackle.
Marsek's confidence in the defense was well-founded. Gremley and Wright hooked up six times for 110 yards, but the Wolves managed only 31 yards on the ground, while Gremley was sacked four times. Senior Matt Melvin, a 6-foot-3, 175-pound lineman, got credit for 2½ of those sacks.
"We still have a lot to work on," Monken said. "We need to work on our pass rush containment, and Highland Park (next week's opponent) is a passing team."
The Cougars had several other opportunities to sack Gremley but over-pursuit or missed tackles allowed Gremley to find a little extra time to pass the ball. In the first half, Gremley avoided a sack on second-and-5 and hit Tyree Miller on a screen pass. Miller wound up 21 yards down the field -- at the Cougars' 4, and scored on a 4-yard dive on the next play to make it 21-14.
Vernon Hills drove the ball inside the Niles West 5 before a Marsek pass intended for Zach Wheeler was intercepted by Tim Kosiba in the end zone. On the ensuing drive, the Wolves faced a fourth-and-7 from the Vernon Hills 42 when Gremley found Wright on a post pattern for what appeared to be a game-tying touchdown. An illegal motion penalty wiped out the play.
On the first drive in the second half, another penalty swung momentum squarely in Vernon Hills' corner. On fourth-and-2, the Cougars had prepared to punt when Niles West was whistled for an illegal substitution. In fact, the Wolves had 13 players on the field at one point during the confusion.
With new life after the five-yard penalty, the Cougars' Tyler Mooney took a counter 51 yards to make it 28-14. On the next drive, Guerrero ran the ball in from 35 yards out to make it 35-14 and the rout was on.
"Our defensive tackles didn't play particularly well," Niles West coach Curtis Tate said. "They weren't blocking their linemen and our linebackers were getting killed. We've been going over the option all summer, and I guess we're going to have to do a better job as a coaching staff. I'll take responsibility because I'm the defensive coordinator."
-- T.J. Brown
Morgan Park 28, Carmel 6: Carmel Catholic began its football season Friday night under the threat of severe thunderstorms, but the violent weather never showed up.
Instead, the Corsairs were deluged by a Morgan Park Academy team in a 28-6 loss at Gately Stadium in Chicago.
It was Carmel's first Opening Night loss since 1999, when the Corsairs were defeated by North Chicago.
Morgan Park established its short passing game early with a 64-yard touchdown drive on its first possession. Quarterback Jelani Eddy completed 5 passes for 35 yards on the drive, which culminated in a 3-yard touchdown run by running back Preston Griffin. The point after gave Morgan Park a 7-0 lead after the first period.
The Carmel defense pressured Eddy into an interception by Corsairs lineman Charlie Wifler at the Mustangs' 13-yard line. The Carmel offense could manage to move the ball only 6 yards however, and a third-down pass from quarterback David Venegoni to wingback Matt Berg was incomplete in the end zone.
The Mustangs took advantage of the quick change of possession three plays later when Eddy atoned for his earlier misplay by avoiding a blitz and lofting a deep pass to wide out Desmond Powell.
The 6-foot-1 senior outjumped his defender and sprinted down the sideline for a 67-yard touchdown, staking Morgan Park to a 14-0 lead.
"That play is designed for me," Powell said. "It's my job to make the corner think I'm going in and then break for the outside. That's what happened."
The Corsairs' only score of the night came on a 77-yard quarterback draw by Venegoni to set the score at 14-6 just before halftime.
The Mustangs added two fourth-quarter touchdowns.
Morgan Park coach Lexie Spurlock said his team had already passed a significant test.
"The first game is always the hardest," Spurlock said. "That's when you have your fumbles, your penalties and your mistakes. But for the first game we did pretty well. I'm not disappointed in our kids at all. We beat a good program through execution and luck."
Despite his long touchdown run, Venegoni was unable to move the Carmel offense consistently. His final stat line of 3 completions on 12 attempts for 37 yards told the story for the Corsairs. Wingback Mike Taylor rushed for 84 yards on 13 carries.
-- Andrew P. Peck
Boys soccer
Stevenson 3, Heritage 0: Ross Dickson scored twice for the Patriots in their season opener against visiting Heritage, which is from Minnesota.
Steve Johnson also scored, while Michael Pastore earned the shutout in goal. Sam Polzien, Colin Pekovich and Ryan Duffy had assists.