Antioch outscores Wauconda
Someone who hasn't yet taken a foreign language in high school might assume Guadarrama means "field position" in Spanish.
Antioch running back Josh Guadarrama, playing for the first time this season, made things easy for his offensive teammates on Friday at Wauconda. The Sequoits scored touchdowns on their first six full possessions on the way to a 48-34 victory in the North Suburban Prairie Division.
Guadarrama returned the opening kickoff 49 yards, then brought Wauconda's second kick back 53 yards, setting up a pair of short early drives. On Antioch's third possession, Guadarrama turned a juggling catch over the middle into a 59-yard gain. A few minutes later, he took a pitch 31 yards to help set up the Sequoits' fourth touchdown. It was a nice debut for the senior, who sat out the first two games for unspecified reasons.
"I've been practicing hard waiting for Week 3 and here I am," Guadarrama said.
"His first game back, I knew he was going to make something happened," Antioch quarterback Tom Sears said. "Me and him are best bros and I knew he was going to make something happen."
The Sequoits (3-0, 1-0) rolled up nearly 300 yards of offense in the first half, while reaching third down just three times. Sears did plenty of damage, completing 9 of 12 passes for 201 yards. His favorite receiver, Brett Prather pulled in 8 receptions for 142 yards and 3 touchdowns.
In the backfield, fullback Sam Green rushed for 82 yards on 16 carries, Vinnie Holm had 81 yards on 8 carries and Guadarrama finished with 77 yards on 11 attempts.
"This is the best our offense has clicked all year - in practice, anything," Sears said. "We just couldn't; be stopped tonight. There wasn't anything anybody could have done."
Wauconda quarterback Brian Kent was tough to stop, as well. The senior ran for 102 yards and completed 16 of 24 passes for 264 yards. Jake Ziolkowski had 8 catches for 134 yards, while Brandon Dorsey caught 5 passes for 66 yards.
"I don't think either defense stopped anybody all night long, really," said Wauconda coach Dave Mills. "(Kent) is a very special player. He makes everybody around him better and he makes you have to defend the entire field. That can make some defenses feel very uncomfortable."
Trailing 35-21 late in the first half, the Bulldogs (1-2, 0-1) caught a tough break when a shotgun snap sailed over Kent's head on first-and-goal at the 7-yard line. Wauconda eventually turned the ball over on downs.
A touchdown there could have put the Bulldogs back in the game, because they were set to receive the third-quarter kickoff. Instead, Antioch coach Brian Glashagel removed the suspense by calling for an onside kick. George Gonzalez recovered the ball for the Sequoits and they marched 45 yards in 12 plays to pull ahead 42-21 midway through the third.
Mills said senior receiver Jacob Moran suffered a broken collarbone late in the game.