Vernon Hills: Strength in numbers

Vernon Hills suited up just 30 players for Friday's soggy North Suburban Prairie showdown at Antioch.

Six of them - one fifth of the roster - produced a run of at least 10 yards for the visiting Cougars.

"We have to mix things up to keep guys fresh," Vernon Hills coach Tony Monken said. "We're playing a little bit of Ironman football."

While the offense spread the wealth, the defense dominated. The Cougars notched their second-straight shutout by slowing down Antioch's power running game during a 14-0 victory.

"Compliments to Vernon Hills. Shutting out teams is hard to do," said Antioch coach Brian Glashagel. "He (Monken) can have 11 guys, he can 70 guys. Somehow, he does a really good job."

The Sequoits (3-3, 1-2) drove inside the Vernon Hills 20-yard line four times - twice on interceptions by junior Kurtis Vepley. But those possessions ended in a blocked field goal, lost fumble, a stop on fourth-and-six, then finally a goal-line interception.

With still more than five minutes left in the game, Antioch reached the 8-yard line when junior quarterback Tom Sears was picked off by Vernon Hills linebacker E.J. Lannan, who returned the ball 51 yards to effectively seal the outcome.

"My sophomore year, my first varsity home game, I got an interception and I fumbled it," Lannan said. "So I was just thinking, 'Hold on to the ball.'"

Lannan and fellow senior linebacker Chris Morgan were brilliant, especially considering they're also full-time guards on offense. But 6-foot-4, 300-pound sophomore Jeremy Brazil, a varsity newcomer, also played an important role in the shutout.

"He wasn't on varsity to start the year," Lannan said. "Then we scrimmaged the sophomores and no one could block him, so 'All right, bring him up.'"

Brazil helped control Antioch's favorite play, the fullback up the middle. Steve Lorenzini finished with 67 yards on 16 carries, with half of those attempts going for 2 yards or less.

"Jeremy has come a long way," Monken said. "He's still learning on the fly, but there's no doubt he's very difficult to move. We didn't want Lorenzini to run all night on us."

Vernon Hills (5-1, 4-0) went 80 yards on their second drive of the night, scoring on Brian Palmer's 2-yard run. Thomas Turner added a 6-yard dash in the second quarter and the 14-0 lead held up.

For the second-straight week, Antioch had to bring up a sophomore to start on the offensive line.

"We're a little green on offense when a year ago, we were senior-heavy," Glashagel added. "We were playing with 18-year-olds a year ago. We're playing with 16-year-olds and some 15-year-olds. I'm sure that's a part of it. Still, there's no reason for us to not get any points on the board."

Last year, both of these teams were 6-0 when they met and Antioch pulled off a thrilling 38-35 win.

"Let's just say it left a bad taste in our mouth and we wanted to come up here tonight and get them back for last year," Monken said.