St. Viator 29, St. Francis 28

There was no letdown for St. Viator.

Coming off a victory over cross-town rival Hersey, the Lions went to Benedictine University in Lisle on Saturday afternoon to play St. Francis.

Viator (2-0) scored on its first five possessions and cruised to a 49-28 nonconference victory.

St. Viator quarterback Eric Huber ran for an 11-yard TD on the Lions' opening possession and added one more score on the ground and two through the air as the visitors pounded away at the Spartans (1-1) with a great effort by the offensive line.

"We ran the ball a ton and the line played great," said Huber, who gained 75 yards on 9 runs and also passed for 154 yards, including a 64-yard score to Richard McLoughlin for a 21-0 lead at the start of the second quarter. "It's really a boost when you shut them down and score your first three times.

"It gets their morale down and it got us pumped up."

Spartans coach Greg Purnell didn't like the way his team played in the first half, which ended with St. Viator on top 35-7.

"We did not come ready to play," the first-year St. Francis coach said after suffering his first defeat. "I'll take the responsibility for that. We've got a lot of work to do and we've got to create some depth."

With the Lions' offensive line leading the way, Mike Landuyt ran through the Spartans defense for 152 yards and three scores and also hauled in a 15-yard TD pass from Huber in the second quarter.

"Our line played well. That's where it starts and ends," Viator coach Chris Kirkpatrick said. "But I thought our first team defense played well. They gave up just one score and it was a missed tackle."

Trailing 28-0, the Spartans got on the board on the first of Stan Bobowski's touchdowns runs, a 2-yard dive.

Mark Kachmer and Bobowski had big second halves after the Lions began resting some of their defensive players with a big lead on the hot day. Bobowski, whose father Stan starred at St. Viator in the early 1970s, finished with 99 yards rushing, including a 55-yard touchdown run in the third quarter.

"We all played really hard," Bobowski said. "We just need to work harder."