DuPage County/Fox Valley football roundup
St. Francis 27, Kenwood 21
Junior quarterback Brady Palmer threw a 3-yard touchdown pass to Amari Head in the opening quarter and added a 3-yard rushing touchdown in the fourth quarter to help lift St. Francis to a season-opening win over Kenwood Friday night in Wheaton.
Trailing 14-7 at halftime, tailback TyVonn Ransom’s 8-yard TD run tied the game at 14-14 before Liam Kolinski’s 19-yard interception return with 4 minutes left in the third quarter put the Spartans on top for good at 21-14.
Houston Second Baptist 19, Wheaton Academy 17
After pinning Wheaton Academy deep in its own territory, Second Baptist (Texas) sacked quarterback Nathan Downey on a rollout for a safety and decisive score in the Warriors’ nonconference home defeat.
“This game felt very similar to our last game in the state semifinals of 2023 (31-30 4A loss to St. Laurence) – hard-fought and very physical,” said Warriors coach Jim Johanik. “But like in the semis, we came up short again. A key for us as a program is to finish strong in these tougher games.”
Trailing 7-0, the Warriors grabbed a 14-7 lead on a pair of 2nd-quarter touchdown passes from Downey – 4 yards to Gino Spinelli and 9 yards to Jake Weston.
Cuyler Finnegan’s 34-yard field goal made it 17-10 before Second Baptist rallied for the win.
Downey completed 22 of 32 passes for 251 yards, while Zach Moravec had 4 catches for 87 yards.
Kevon Brooks, Jr. (5 tackles, 3 assists), Jeremy Johanik (4 tackles, 11 assists), and London Leflore (3 tackles, 7 assists) led the Warriors’ defense.
West Aurora 53, Proviso East 0
Nicholas Weisse returned an interception and a kick return for touchdowns during the Blackhawks’ nonconference triumph over Proviso East.
Jordan Martino added a touchdown off a fumble recovery, and junior quarterback Mason Atkins tossed a TD pass to Terrence Smith and ran for another score, as the Blackhawks piled up 39 first-quarter points.
Azuriah Sylvester had a pair of rushing touchdowns, while Bryce Riley (4 carries, 58 yards) ran for a TD.
Montini 49, Hyde Park 0
Gaetano Carbonara threw touchdown passes to 3 different receivers during the Broncos’ nonconference win over Hyde Park.
Montini jumped out to a 7-0 lead on Carbonara’s 15-yard TD toss to Cristian Harkins before Isreal Abrams’ 35-yard TD pass to Santino Florio made it 14-0.
Following Isaac Alexander’s 50-yard interception return for a TD, Jeremiah Peterson rushed for a 15-yard score to make it 28-0.
Carbonara capped the night with a pair of 20-yard touchdown passes – to Isaiah Mason and Santino Tenuta.
York 28, Glenbrook South 10
Trailing 10-0, the Dukes scored 28 unanswered points during their nonconference win over host Glenbrook South.
Quarterback Bruno Massel threw for 185 yards and a pair of touchdowns, including an 80-yard strike to Hayden Alexander, while Jimmy Conners and Henry Duda each added 1-yard TD runs. Fintan Helm had 5 catches for 102 yards and a touchdown, as the Dukes prevailed in Don Gelsomino’s head coaching debut.
Fenton 34, Elgin 14
The Bison snapped a 10-game losing streak with their Upstate Eight crossover victory over Elgin in Bensenville.
Senior quarterback Nathan Stewart passed for 255 yards and a pair of first-half touchdowns, and the Bison defense recorded 3 interceptions, as Fenton prevailed in Shane McNally’s return as head coach.
Fabian Ramirez caught a 45-yard TD pass for the Maroons.
Kaneland 20, Washington 14
Chase Kruckenberg connected with Brady Brown (50 yards) and Dylan San Augustin (25 yards) for touchdown passes, while Luke Gadomski’s late interception sealed the Knights’ season-opening win over perennial state power Washington.
Sophomore Jackson Little added a pair of interceptions for Kaneland.
Hampshire 17, McHenry 16, OT
Arshawn Rupert’s 10-yard touchdown run on the first play of overtime gave the Whip-Purs a 17-10 overtime lead before Glenn Manguerra stopped Conor McLean short of the goal line on McHenry’s 2-point conversion try during Hampshire’s dramatic season-opening victory.
Aurora Christian 24, Marquette 19
Chris Fielding’s 63-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter sealed the Eagles’ season-opening win over Marquette.
Asa Johnson (17 for 25, 212 yards) threw touchdown passes to Jonan Miceli (10 catches, 152 yards) and Nolan Robertson, and Zach Zappia booted a 38-yard field goal for the Eagles.