Larkin 40, Streamwood 7
Larkin linebacker Brandon Cooks had heard it all about his team's defense this season.
After the Royals pitched a near shutout in their 40-7 victory to spoil Streamwood's homecoming Friday night at Millennium Field, Cooks and the defense stood tall.
On four straight series in the first half, Larkin (3-3, 3-1 Upstate Eight) sacked Streamwood (1-5, 1-3) quarterback Gabe Roman on third down. Cook sacked Roman twice and Jake Kane picked a pass to end another drive.
"We had a lot to prove," Cooks said. "A lot of people are talking, saying our defense is nothing. We came out strong. We worked hard to stop them on third down."
Larkin also stopped Roman 1 yard short of a touchdown as time expired in the first half. Roman scrambled for 19 yards one play after having his 20-yard touchdown run called back for holding. Jeff Saurbaugh and Nick Bee each swatted passes away from Sabers' receiver Kyle Holder in the end zone to prevent the score.
"Defense has been an emphasis since week one," Larkin coach Dave Bierman said. "With personnel and schemes, the kids are understanding more of what they have to do. We're getting more pressure on the ball."
Streamwood prevented the shutout when Daniel Poierier (11 rushes, 41 yards) dashed in from 11 yards out with 6:15 left in the game. The score came after Larkin scored 40 points and ignited the running clock.
Larkin's defense had held Streamwood to 3-and-out 7 times in the Sabers' prior 10 possessions.
"They were playing some aggressive football," Streamwood coach Cal Cummins said. "They were flying to the football. They gave us a different look than we expected."
For as hard as the defense worked, Larkin's offense made things look easy.
In the Royals' first 8 offensives plays, quarterback Cam Kinley went 5-of-6 for 152 yards and a pair of touchdowns.
Kinley (11-of-17, 266 yards) found the end zone 5 times in the game, with a pair of scoring passes to Bee (3 receptions, 113 yards) and Kyle Shriver (5 receptions, 128 yards) in the first half.
Kinley hooked up with Bee for a 55-yard touchdown with 6:50 left in the first quarter. He then found Shriver from 47 yards out 3 minutes, 9 seconds later to make it 21-0. He went back to Shriver with 11:49 left in the second quarter, this time for 25 yards, but a missed extra point made it a 27-0 lead.
Bee caught the final touchdown of the first half on a 33-yard bomb. The final score came on the opening drive of the second half when Kinley connected with Kane on a 25-yard score.
But Kinley was as quick to spread the praise as he was to spread the ball around.
"We're not one dimensional," Kinley said. "We can do more than play offense. We can stop them on defense too."
Running back Dillon Smith (7 rushes, 42 yards) kicked off the scoring, running in for an 11-yard touchdown on the Royals' opening series.