Grens can't get stoppage of OP's Coppage
At the end of the first quarter, it seemed as though Elk Grove's defense had all the right weapons to stop Levell Coppage. The Oak Park-River Forest running back had been held to only 12 yards and the Grenadiers were ahead 6-0.
Being the play-maker that he is, though, Coppage found his groove and helped lead the Huskies to a 33-6 nonconference victory Saturday in Oak Park.
"We came out a little slow today but I got tons of help from our offensive line," said Coppage. The 5-foot-8 senior finished the day with 164 yards and 2 touchdowns.
Elk Grove's touchdown came on its first drive of the game as running back Kevin McDonald broke through the right side and ran it in from the 6-yard line.
In his first varsity start, senior quarterback Bryan Bathauer showed signs of positive things to come for the Grenadiers.
"I thought he did a good job of dictating the pace of the game, especially with it being his first start," said Elk Grove coach Tom Whalen.
Down 12-6 in the third quarter, the Grenadiers put together a strong drive that looked like it was going to get them back into the game. Junior fullback Cory Laga pounded the middle of the line, but the drive ended on a third-and-12 pass broken up by the Huskies' Antaeus Jefferson.
Oak Park capitalized on its next possession as senior quarterback Clarke Cuthbert connected with John Blue for an 11-yard touchdown, one of three on the day for Cuthbert. His longest, a 72-yard completion to Evan Scott, all but ensured the Week 1 victory.
"Our offensive line won this game for us. They're amazing and we have the talent to get better every game," said Cuthbert.
A 59-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter by Coppage also added to the 33 unanswered points by the Huskies.
Elk Grove's running game was one aspect that Oak Park's defense could not control. McDonald led the way with 83 yards but there were also big contributions from Laga (77 yards) and Bathauer (44 yards).
"We just need to cut down on the mistakes, especially penalties. These are correctible though and our guys put up a gutsy effort," said Whalen.
Leyden 49, Niles North 36: Josh Serrano rushed for a school-record 276 yards on 31 carries as Leyden rolled to the nonconference win.
Serrano broke the Leyden/East Leyden mark of 272 yards set last year by Ricky Emery. Angel Maldonado added 146 yards rushing.
New Trier 20, Warren 13: The way Warren senior Tayler Erbach sees it, no one really knows just what this Warren football team is capable of.
Count New Trier as one of those teams unsure of what to expect from the Blue Devils.
"I don't think a lot of people know all that much about us," Erbach said. "We have a lot of talent here and a lot of guys with heart. We are going to surprise some people."
A new-look offense and a young, talented and quick defense caused the Trevians fits early, but as veteran teams do, they adjusted.
The final adjustment came late in the fourth quarter when Trevian senior quarterback Dillon Napoleon tossed a 2-yard touchdown to Ryan Coyle to give New Trier its first win over Warren in four years, 20-13.
"We knew that (Warren) would load up on the run and with Dillon's ability to run or throw, we tried that boot-pass play and Dillon did a great job," said new Trier coach Dan Mortier. "With the athletes that (Warren) has, we made some adjustments and I think we defended better in the second half."
Warren had one last chance, but a pair of sacks on quarterback Zach Shaw and two incomplete passes ended the night for the Blue Devils offense.
"I was very proud of how this group played for four quarters and how our conditioning was over the game," said Warren coach Dave Mohapp. "We just made too many mistakes and kept getting ourselves into trouble."
One area the Blue Devils did not have any trouble was in the ground game. Sophomore Greg Kennedy and junior Darrien Pitts gave the Trevians' defense fits.
Kennedy, in his first varsity start, got the Devils on the board first with a 1-yard run. His 96 yards rushing led the Blue Devils. Pitts was also extremely productive in his first varsity start with 83 yards on the ground and a 5-yard touchdown that gave Warren its last lead in the second quarter at 13-6.
"They are both very talented kids," Mohapp said. "We would like to get the rest of our running game going too and we will need it as the year goes on."
Pitts' touchdown broke a 6-6 tie midway through the second quarter. His scamper capped a 6-play, 82-yard drive that featured a 39-yard run from Pitts and a 28-yard burst from Kennedy.
New Trier (1-0) tied things up just before half when senior George Brigandi capped off a long 10-play Trevians drive with a 6-yard score. Brigandi finished with 122 yards on 29 carries.
One of the key mistakes Mohapp spoke of came late in the fourth quarter. With Warren (0-1) backed up deep in its own end, the Blue Devils were forced to punt. The punt sailed just 17 yards, giving the Trevians the ball at the Warren 26. Seven plays later, Napoleon's touchdown turned out to be the game-winner.
"That was similar for us to last year," Mohapp said. "Our defense made the plays then, but couldn't do it tonight."
-- Jeff Newton