Larkin gets first victory for Scianna
Kyle Newquist to Trevor Whitehead is a connection Fox Valley football fans may want to get used to hearing.
Whitehead caught 13 balls from Newquist on Friday night, including touchdowns of 40 and 64 yards in the first half, as Larkin defeated McHenry for a season-opening victory at Memorial Field.
"We're really good friends," Newquist said of his senior teammate. "We worked hard in the offseason and ran routes all the time. All the summer camp and doubles helped out a lot."
Newquist, a junior, hit Whitehead three times on the opening drive, capped by a 40-yard touchdown with 9:33 left in the first quarter as the Royals took an early 7-0 lead.
The pair hooked up again with 5:23 remaining in the first half for 64-yard score to give Larkin a 15-0 lead.
On the Warriors next series, Robert Tonyan's pass was intercepted by Shaquille Mosley, who returned it 42 yards for a touchdown and a 21-0 Royals lead.
"The big opening start to jump up quick was unbelievable," Newquist said. "If we didn't have that big start the second half would have been rough."
Newquist's legs gave Larkin a 27-0 advantage as he scrambled away from pressure and scored on a 13-yard run with 27.6 left in the second quarter.
In the first half, Newquist completed 10 passes, all to Whitehead, for 241 yards. The Royals outgained the Warriors 296 to 106 in the first half.
"Whitehead is the real deal," said Larkin coach Mike Scianna, who earned his first victory in his first game as a varsity head coach. "Newquist played great."
McHenry came out quickly in the second half, scoring on its first two drives. Tonyan and Corey Szamlewski connected for an 8-yard strike with 9:34 left in the third and Tonyan hit Jake Braskett for a 32-yard score with 3:40 left in the third to cut the deficit to 35-14.
In between McHenry's two touchdowns, Nico Marado scored on a 1-yard run for Larkin.
The Warriors got within 35-21 with 10:01 remaining as Tonyan and Szamlewski connected again for a 2-yard touchdown.
The Royals were able to force McHenry into two turnover on downs in the final 7 minutes, both in Larkin territory to hold on for the victory.
"What a win," Scianna said. "We had to show a little bit more than we wanted to. Now other teams won't be as surprised."
Tonyan threw for 261 yards on 25-for-37 passing and three touchdowns for McHenry.
Newquist completed 14 of 25 passes for 302 yards. Whitehead had 13 catches for 274 yards.
"(McHenry's) corners were playing deep and in to the inside so we were able to go with the out and go," Whitehead said. "I have to give credit to the line as well."