Grayslake N. 31, Grayslake Central 6

Goodbye drought.

Hello victory.

The Grayslake North football team had been waiting anxiously to get a taste of the good life.

And waiting and waiting and waiting.

No longer.

The Knights made history in front of nearly 5,000 fans packed into their stadium Friday night when they ran over crosstown rival Grayslake Central 31-6 to get not only their first win of the year, but their first win in school history.

"This is just so shocking," said Grayslake North running back Stephan Kalina, who rolled up 121 yards and 2 touchdowns. "It can't get any better than this."

Grayslake North, which branched off from Grayslake Central, fielded its first varsity team last year and stumbled through an 0-9 campaign. The Knights then started this season 0-6.

Now, the weight of that 0-15 monkey is completely off their back.

"We broke the barrier with this first win," said Grayslake North running back Robbie Nesbitt. "Now, hopefully we can continue this and be a dynasty."

Nesbitt had reason to dream big. He certainly played big all night.

Nesbitt rushed for a game-high 130 yards. He also caught a 16-yard touchdown from quarterback Nick Harrington (6-for-9, 107 yards) to give Grayslake North a 7-6 first-quarter advantage.

The night just got better from there for the Knights.

By halftime, they were up 10-6, thanks to a Tom Sewart field goal and by the end of the third quarter, they were dominating 24-6.

Harrington and Kalina scored third quarter touchdowns on runs of 1 and 12 yards, respectively.

Tough defense and a punishing ground game kept the momentum going Grayslake North's way. The Knights, who got another big score -- a 60-yard touchdown run by Kalina -- in the fourth quarter, rushed for a total of 344 yards and never allowed Central in the red zone in the second half.

"To get pushed around like that is a real disappointment," Grayslake Central coach Nick Goshe said. "If that's not motivation to get in the weight room and get stronger, I don't know what is. Because we got pushed around by our crosstown rival. They ran all over the place, and it wasn't tricks or anything. It was just, they pushed us around.

"They kept our offense off the field, we couldn't get in a rhythm and they rolled down the field. By the end, it got kind of comical. They were just running whatever they wanted."

Initially, it looked like it might have been that kind of night for the Rams. They scored on their very first play from scrimmage when Ryan Lund motored 60 yards for a touchdown.

But it was downhill from there.

"It was like we took an exhale instead of keeping that high emotionally," said Goshe, who got a team-high 93 rushing yards out of Rich Smith. "They were definitely the better team tonight, no doubt."

That's probably never been said about the Knights. And that's not lost on anyone in the program.

"I mean, wow. This feels really good. You know, finally," Grayslake North coach Steve Wood said. "This about all those kids who have stuck together trying to build something."