Waubonsie Valley 24, Lake Park 0
Under the radar, onto the scoreboard.
In his first varsity start, junior receiver Matt Hilgers helped Waubonsie Valley beat Lake Park 24-0 in Upstate Eight Conference football action in Roselle.
Lake Park defenders like Ben Coleman and Rocky Sanzone, trying in vain to remain playoff-eligible, held the Warriors to 69 yards rushing.
So, Waubonsie Valley (4-2, 3-1) went to the air.
Quarterback Tyler Castro completed 16 of 22 passes for 252 yards, getting good mileage from Hilgers, Drew Warden and Rich Tronolone. Hilgers had 84 yards receiving and a 7-yard touchdown grab. Warden had 81 yards.
"We have multiple things we can do, which is fun this year because we've got so many talented kids," said Warriors coach Paul Murphy. "It was very nice to see the timing and all that stuff that Tyler had with Mark."
Lake Park (1-5, 0-4) took the field crashing through a big sign that said, "Tough times never last, but tough people do."
The Lancers indeed played tough.
"Once we were able to move the ball a little bit, suddenly that was a little bit different," said coach Andy Livingston, who's now witnessed four straight shutouts. "They didn't get tight and worry about everything."
Fullback Kevin Thomas, who ran for 52 of his 75 yards in the first half, had the Lancers rolling on their first possession, to first-and-10 at the Waubonsie 23-yard line.
Stops by linebackers Kevin Garbis and Spencer Merritt and a Spencer Matlock sack ended the threat.
After a scoreless first quarter Waubonsie earned a 14-0 halftime lead. Hilgers' 13-yard catch set up a 1-yard Castro sneak behind center Nick Capristo for a 7-0 edge.
On their next possession Castro hit Warden and Hilgers for 30-yard grabs that set up Hilgers' 7-yard touchdown catch on a slant.
"They left the middle wide open, so I made a move outside and just cut inside. It was wide open, Tyler just laid it in there," Hilgers said.
Kicker Mitch Ewald's 33-yard field goal made it 17-0 early in the third quarter.
Josh Daniels' interception snuffed Lake Park's second serious threat, and Kenny Harrington capped a 13-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown run for a 24-0 lead with 11:19 left to play.
Lake Park starting quarterback Larry Nawrot got a concussion last week, so senior Mike Hannigan got the call.
"We'd click and it'd be perfect for 90 percent of the drive," Hannigan said, "and then at the end we just have a couple little flaws. We try to play through it but sometimes we just can't."