Brown, Niles North run to victory

Niles North senior running back Oshayne Brown sure put on a show in his final high school football game.

With the Vikings visiting Maine West in Friday night’s Central Suburban North contest, Brown scored 5 touchdowns and ran for 295 yards on 18 carries to power Niles North to a 50-7 victory.

“Oshayne’s the man,” Niles North coach Scott Smith said. “He and I have had our moments, but this kid epitomizes what you want a senior to be. He’s stepped up this year and been a leader for us. There are some schools that are interested in him, and I think they’re going to get a (heck) of a kid, and a (heck) of a running back.”

A few weeks back Niles North (3-6, 2-3) lost starting quarterback Billy Voitik to an injury, and called up a freshman as his replacement. What the Vikings have done during that time is turn their primary offense into a formation where Brown receives a direct snap, and runs a sweep to either side of the field, with the occasional counter play run off the same look.

“I said, ‘Why not put the ball every snap in the hands of our best player?’ ” Smith said. “He showed why we made that choice. He’s an outstanding football player.”

Brown’s big night could have been even bigger. He had a 93-yard touchdown run in the first quarter called back because of a Niles North penalty. In the end, Brown scored on runs of 75, 53, 50, 4, and 58 yards.

“You want your last game to be your greatest game, your most memorable game,” Brown said. “I can definitely say this is a memorable game. My blockers did a fantastic job. They did beautiful. One play I had a blocker running 30 yards downfield to block someone.”

Senior Mychael Henley had 113 rushing yards of his own on 13 carries. He also ran for a touchdown. Niles North’s other touchdown came on a 4-yard run by senior Romeo Montiel.

For Maine West, (0-9, 0-5) it was a disappointing end to a tough season. Warriors coach Chris Hare looked at the positives, though, in his final assessment of his team.

“Nobody goes in wanting to be 0-9,” Hare said. “They’re hurt. We’re all hurt. Football is a tough game. We teach to fight through things when things get tough, whether it’s in football or in life. These seniors stuck through the whole thing, and in my mind became better people because of it.”

John Manicke led Maine West in rushing with 32 yards on 11 carries.