South Elgin shows its depth in shutout of Lake Park
The South Elgin football team entered Saturday's Upstate Eight Conference Valley Division opener against visiting Lake Park in a vulnerable position, or so it seemed.
Starting quarterback John Menken, an All-Area football and baseball player in 2009, missed his first start in two seasons to attend a tryout for an elite-level baseball travel team.
The leader of the Storm defense, middle linebacker Justin Wright, couldn't play after spraining an ankle in practice on Thursday.
And starting wide receiver Kenny Lowden (6-foot-5) was diagnosed with mononucleosis Wednesday. He'll miss a total of 3 games.
As if that wasn't enough adversity, starting defensive end Derek Hurschman was ejected from the game in the first quarter. He had already made a tackle for a loss and notched a quarterback hurry.
None of the aforementioned absences affected South Elgin in the least in its 48-0 dismantling of the Lancers at Millennium Field in Streamwood, thanks to a roster with depth to rival the Grand Canyon.
"I think it's an affirmation that there's not just one kid, which is lucky," South Elgin coach Dale Schabert said. "A lot of times you maybe have only one or two players. We have a bunch of kids who can play ... It's a fun group to coach."
Menken's absence provided an opportunity for junior backup Zack Gross (5-9, 175), a starting quarterback for two seasons on the lower levels. All Gross did was rush for a game-high 96 yards and 3 touchdowns, highlighted by a weaving 34-yard touchdown run in the second quarter.
He also completed 6-of-8 attempts for 85 yards, including a 39-yard touchdown pass on the money to Domico Failla, which upped the Storm lead to 41-0 with 6:10 left in the third quarter.
"The rest of the team really stepped up to help me," Gross said. "I felt confident that my line was going to block and give me enough time, my running backs were going to run for some yardage and my wide receivers were going to catch the ball."
Despite missing Wright and Hurschman, the Storm defense recorded its first shutout since 2008 and second in school history. It marked the first time Lake Park (0-3, 0-1) has been shut out since 2007. The Lancers were limited to 181 total yards.
South Elgin (3-0, 1-0) recovered 2 of Lake Park's 4 fumbles and Kyle Rodriguez intercepted a pass at the end of the second quarter to win the turnover battle 3-1.
"They're a really physical team, and we had a lot of mistakes, critical mistakes," Lake Park sophomore quarterback Zach Gehant said. "We fumbled a snap on our (20)-yard line, and that put them in position to score. Just a lot on us.
"We learned a lot. I think there's more to be learned from losses. We'll move on from this week, make a lot of fixes and be ready for next week."
Senior Brad Birchfield staked South Elgin to the lead 10 seconds into game. He fielded the opening kick at the 21-yard line and followed his middle wedge blockers before cutting to the outside for a 79-yard touchdown.
"I thought there was a chance to take it back, but I was surprised," Birchfield said. "I saw the opening and was like, wow, here's a chance to start it off strong. There was a big hole. The front wall blocked amazingly. I just bounced outside and trusted my speed."
The Storm took a 13-0 lead on a 13-yard keeper by Gross before Lake Park answered with its best drive of the game, a 10-play, 79-yard march to the South Elgin 1-yard line. But on 4th-and-goal the shotgun snap sailed over Gehant's head and was recovered at the 20 by South Elgin's Jake Randich.
The Storm reversed field and took a 20-0 lead after Gross's 34-yard jaunt with 11:51 to play in the second quarter. They added 2 more touchdowns before halftime on a 4-yard run by Gross and a 1-yard run by Birchfield, who rushed 12 times for 75 yards.
Rowell Siazon capped the scoring with a 38-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter.
Lake Park will try to get in the win column against Waubonsie Valley on Friday. South Elgin, ranked No. 9 in Class 8A, travels to Metea Valley.