Cook and Lake County football roundup
There are things percolating on the other side of Park Ridge.
In a town that has been traditionally dominated by Maine South, Maine East has struggled not only to win, but to even field a team at times. That has all changed this season.
New head coach Jay Bibbs has Maine East off to the best start since 2013. The Blue Demons matched that two-win start Friday when, led by a pair of safeties, Maine East held off Round Lake 10-7.
“There is a little bit of excitement going on here,” Bibbs said. “There are good things going on in all of Park Ridge. That is what we set out to do. We wanted to build a bridge with Maine South over the summer. And we went over to observe how they do things. The main objective was to bring Park Ridge back to prominence.”
Round Lake (0-2) took an early 7-0 lead on an 11-yard touchdown run on a keeper by quarterback Kevin Rodriguez that capped a scoring drive.
Maine East’s defense then took over.
The Blue Demons picked up a pair of safeties, the first on a bad snap by Round Lake on a punt. The second came on tackle by Tomas Khamo and Shahan Vhora in the end zone that forced a fumble that went out through the back of the end zone that closed the gap to 7-4. The Maine East defense would also go on to force 5 turnovers.
After the safety, Maine East got a short field. The Blue Demons took advantage of that when Tryfon Giolas connected with Shah Jan on an 11-yard touchdown pass late in the third quarter to make it 10-7.
Hoffman Estates 42, Wheeling 7: Nate Cleveland ran for two touchdowns and threw to Will Carlson for another touchdown as Hoffman (2-0) rolled. Quan Field also ran for a pair of touchdowns while Landon Ford rushed for 139 yards in 13 carries and a touchdown.
Glenbrook South 35, Lake Zurich 20: Lake Zurich (0-2) fell behind 21-0 and could not quite recover. Cole Kenyon threw for 206 yards and three touchdowns. He completed a pair of touchdown passes to Jackson Piggott covering 13 and 15 yards. Kenyon also threw a 37-yarder to Reece Katzenberger.
Libertyville 48, Richards 15: Quinn Schambow continues to be on fire. A week after throwing five touchdown passes, the senior followed up with a 7-touchdown pass performance as the Wildcats (2-0) rolled in Oak Lawn.
Stevenson 42, Taft 7: The Patriots had an easy time with Taft. Aidan Crawley threw three touchdown passes to pace Stevenson (2-0). Crawley connected twice with Thomas Simmons on plays of 16 and 13 yards. Crawley also threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Zach Hersh. Frank Costabile scored twice on runs of 6 and 9 yards while Fatman Thorndyke rushed 13 yards for a touchdown.
Mundelein 28, Johnsburg 14: Trailing 14-7 late in the third quarter, Mundelein rallied for three touchdowns. Jake Junia had a pair of two-yard touchdown runs.
Antioch 33, Zion-Benton 20: Antioch (1-1) trailed early but rallied for the win. Colin Arquilla had a three-yard touchdown run, Gavyn Agne had a 24-yard touchdown run and Jack Bucar scored on a 24-yard run.
Grant 34, Glenbrook North 20: Matthew Gipson went long to help send Grant (1-1) to its first victory. Gipson fired a pair of touchdown passes to Max Hembry that covered 75 and 35 yards. He also threw a 42-yard strike to Cameron Houghton and a two-point conversion pass to Zach Collins. Tyler Zdon had two-yard and 50-yard touchdown runs for the Bulldogs, who jumped out to a 21-0 lead.
Grayslake Central 14, Bremen 13, OT: Demarion Williams scored on a two-yard touchdown run in overtime and Marcus Hueser booted the conversion kick to put Grayslake Central up 14-7 in overtime. After Bremen scored a touchdown on their scoring opportunity in overtime, the Rams were able to stop the conversion on a combined sack by Cordell Johnson and Owen Tews to preserve the victory. Romeo Reyes had a one-yard touchdown run for Grayslake Central (1-1).
Grayslake North 35, Elgin 24: Mitch Hughes threw a pair of touchdown passes and ran for another for Grayslake North (2-0). Hughes threw touchdown passes to Tyler McBride and Cameron Bates while Landon Dovel also scored on a run.
Maine West 40, Waukegan 14: Northern Illinois-bound Dante Hicks caught a 75-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage and Maine West (2-0) was on their way. Hicks would later catch another touchdown pass from Tely Litas. Maks Makota had three touchdown runs and Louis Avalos had another. Colling Roback had a fumble recovery for the Warriors.
Leyden 14, Niles North 6: Leyden rallied from a 6-0 deficit to remain unbeaten. Maddox Jasinski tossed a 7-yard touchdown pass to Isaiah Diblich. Adrien Rivera then powered home a 7-yard touchdown run with 4 minutes to play for some insurance.
St. Viator 41, Hyde Park 6: The Cooper Kmet to Dayvion Ellis show was on huge display for the second consecutive week. Kmet connected with Ellis for a pair of touchdowns, just like he did a week ago, as the Lions (2-0) rolled. Kmet also ran for a touchdown along with Keaton Franzen, who scored on a 9-yard run and Mike Tauscher, who scored from six yards out. Tauscher also blocked a punt that set up a three-yard scoop and score for JR Cleary.