Two goal-line stands help South Elgin shut out Larkin
South Elgin beat Larkin 36-0 Friday night at Memorial Field for its first shutout of the season.
But the pesky Royals did not make it easy for the Storm in the Upstate Eight contest. Twice, Larkin move the ball within ten yards of the goal line. Both times, South Elgin's defense made goal-line stands to keep the Royals off the board.
Larkin also had new quarterback. Aden Mora, a sophomore call-up, guide the team's offense throughout the entire game.
"It always good to get a win in conference play and it was a tough one. When we needed to make plays, we did," said South Elgin coach Dragan Teonic. "They had two very nice long drives. We bulked on the goal line and made the stops."
Mora did not have much time to prepare for his new role.
"He had two days of practice and I thought he did an outstanding job with trying to digest as much of the offense as he could," Larkin coach Vincent Ray said." He played with some tremendous heart."
South Elgin (4-0, 4-0) wasted no time in getting on the scoreboard, scoring on the opening kick-off. Brandon Berrios caught the kick and after recovering his own fumble, raced 80 yards to put the Storm up 7-0, 17 seconds into the contest.
"When the ball was kicked, I thought I was going to catch it because I was under it but it slipped out of my hands," Berrios said. "But I knew I keep the play going. So, I took the ball and my blockers led the way to the touchdown."
Larkin (1-3, 1-3) came close to tying the contest on its first possession. The Royals marched 63 yards on 11 plays to South Elgin's 7-yard. Facing fourth and goal, the Storm defense stopped fullback Diyonnes King in the back field to end the drive.
South Elgin scored 3 second quarter passing touchdowns to open up the game up. Quarterback Jack Ginnan connected with Jabari Pruit for a 22-yard TD score 58 seconds into the period. The junior also teamed up with Berrios for a 16-yard score. Ginnan closed out the second half finding Ishmael George, his favorite target in the end zone and completing a 23 -yard pass with 7.9 seconds left in the half. The Storm led 29-0 at halftime.
Ginnan completed nine of 14 attempts for 151 yards. George caught five for 84 yards.
Larkin opened the second half with another long, time-consuming drive that moved the ball to the Storm's 2-yard line. This drive stalled out on an offensive foul and the Storm defense preventing a fourth down conversion.
Nicolas Barkho (7 carries for 54 yards) scored South Elgin's final TD on a 4-yard run at the 9:18 mark of the fourth quarter.
The victory was South Elgin's 28th conference win in a row.