Stevenson's seniors deliver
Host Stevenson's North Suburban Conference football game against Round Lake was a nice send-off for the Patriots on senior night Friday.
The undefeated Patriots (8-0) also made the most of the lopsided match-up by tuning up for their week nine showdown at Warren next weekend by rolling to a huge 42-0 halftime lead over the Panthers en route to a 48-6 NSC crossover victory.
It took very little time for Stevenson to get its offense rolling as quarterback Kevin Earl (5-for-6, 132 yards passing) hit a wide-open Nate Johnson for a 46-yard touchdown pass and a 6-0 lead 2:10 into the contest. The first of six Mike Praljak extra points put the Pats ahead 7-0.
"Basically we wanted to come in here and handle our business and we're happy with the results," said Johnson, who caught 3 passes for 75 yards. "Next week is going to be a showdown and it is going to be a huge game for us. Hopefully we can come out on top."
Round Lake (0-8) got an interception from Gerald Williams in the end zone as Earl's pass tipped off of a receiver's hand on the Patriots' second possession of the game.
But the Panthers could not move the ball as good field position proved to be an ally for Stevenson throughout the first half.
The Pats got on the scoreboard again when a 21-yard run by Matt Harris was followed by a 12-yard TD run by Mark Weisman (6 carries, 28 yards) for a 14-0 lead with 4:03 left in the first quarter.
The Panthers lost a fumble on their next possession and two plays later Harris (3 carries, 45 yards) went right for a 21-yard TD run for a 21-0 advantage with 1:46 remaining in the first quarter.
An interception by Stevenson's Erick King set up the Pats' next short scoring drive as a 25-yard screen pass from Earl to Joe Cassata put the ball on the Round Lake 1-yard-line. Weisman's 1-yard plunge made the score 28-0 after one quarter.
The Patriots' offense continued their onslaught in the second quarter as a 32-yard pass to King was followed by an 11-yard TD run up the middle by Cassata for a 35-0 lead with 8:41 left in the first half.
Senior Alexander Friedman closed out the first-half scoring with a 9-yard TD run up the middle with 3:22 to go in the second quarter. The entire second half was played with a running clock.
"We were crisp in the first half and that is what we wanted to do," said Stevenson coach Bill Mitz. "It was a great victory and everybody got to play. Next week is a big game and we want to finish on a positive note."
Friedman (63 yards on 4 carries) got the Patriots' offense rolling again in the third quarter and he barely found the right corner of the end zone at the end of his 44-yard TD run for a 48-0 advantage with 7:52 left in the period.
The Panthers did break up the shutout with 3:51 to play when running back Edgar Rivera took a pitch before going 8 yards for the touchdown.
Round Lake sophomore quarterback Anthony Gutierrez threw for 71 yards on 9-for-18 passing while Rivera led the Panthers with 38 yards on the ground. Gutierrez left the game with an injury on Round Lake's scoring drive late in the fourth quarter.