Grant 35, Grayslake Central 7

With a black "34" painted on his game face, senior running back Rich Smith was one of many Grayslake Central football players who played with a heavy heart Friday.

And while it was a special night at Grayslake Central, as the Rams honored former teammate Alex Richardson, who passed away in a snowmobiling accident last winter, it was Grant's special teams that made the difference on an emotional night for the home school.

Grant overcame a spirited start by the Rams to win the nonconference game 35-7. Bulldogs running back Israel Rodriguez and quarterback Pavel Zurkowski rushed for a combined 213 yards, and Tom Bychowski caught 10 passes for the second week in a row.

Rodriguez (21 carries, 125 yards) scored 3 touchdowns. Bychowski also returned a kickoff for a score for the second consecutive week, and this one change the momentum of the game.

"Coach (Tom) Evans does a great job with our special teams," said head coach Kurt Rous, whose Bulldogs improved to 2-0. "Our kids don't look at special teams as an afterthought. We spend 30 minutes at the start of every practice working on special teams."

Grayslake Central (0-2) received a spark from its special teams on the opening kickoff, as Ryan Lund busted off a 43-yard return. Lund, a 5-foot-7 senior, also sparkled on defense.

While the Rams couldn't capitalize after starting at the Grant 35, they eventually manufactured an eight-play, 80-yard drive to take the game's first lead. On third-and-20, quarterback Greg Bey tossed a swing pass to Justin Squillo, who turned it into a 26-yard TD midway through the second quarter.

But on the ensuing kickoff, Bychowski sprinted 82 yards the other way. Rodriguez ran for the conversion, and Grant never looked back.

"We set up a well to our bench," Bychowski said. "Everyone just blocked perfectly. I didn't have to make any moves."

"Bychowski's a playmaker," said Rous, whose junior wide receiver has 20 catches for 223 yards in two games. "He's explosive. That's what track does for you."

Grant scored on its next two possessions, as Rodriguez and Zurkowski scored from 1 and 2 yards out, respectively, to lead 22-7 at halftime.

Grant's defense and ball-control offense dominated the second half.

Grayslake Central ran only 3 plays in the third quarter. Then after the Rams went three-and-out on their first series of the fourth quarter, the next play they ran was a pass that Grant linebacker Bud Staton intercepted.

When the Rams got the ball back, the Bulldogs' Cody Arff recovered a fumble.

It was a different Grant defense after the Grayslake Central TD.

"It (the touchdown) was a slip-up," Staton said. "We moved Izzy Montemayor to middle linebacker (in the first half) and he was just blitzing. He's so quick. He's a playmaker.

"Our DBs came to play, D-line. We stepped it up. Coach (Rous) chewed us out (after the touchdown) and then we (woke up)."