DuPage County and Fox Valley football roundup: St. Francis knocks off Loyola

St. Francis 35, Loyola Academy 21

Junior quarterback Brady Palmer passed for a pair of touchdowns and ran for another during the Spartans’ 35-21 upset of 2-time defending Class 8A state champion Loyola Academy in Wilmette.

With the win, the Spartans improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2022, while spoiling the Ramblers’ first Friday night game at Hoerster Field.

“I am just extremely proud of these coaches and these boys,” said Spartans coach Bob McMillen. “I’ve never seen a team lock in and focus so much as these guys did this week.

“This is a huge win for the St. Francis community, our alumni and student body, but it’s only one win. We’ll enjoy this one and get ready for the next one.”

Loyola (1-2), off to its worst start since the 2002 squad began the season 0-3, played without senior quarterback Ryan Fitzgerald, who suffered a hamstring injury the week before against Glenbard West.

Sophomore Dom Maloney, who threw 3 touchdown passes in relief of Fitzgerald against the Hilltoppers, got the call against St. Francis, which jumped out to an early 21-0 lead.

Tailback TyVonn Ransom’s 2-yard touchdown run capped a 14-play, 80-yard drive in the opening quarter, and Palmer connected with Zach Washington for a 34-yard TD to make it 14-0.

Following Ryan Palmeri’s fumble recovery inside the red zone, the Spartans upped the margin to 21-0 on Palmer’s 5-yard touchdown run.

Loyola cut the deficit to 21-14 at halftime, and after a scoreless third quarter, Palmer’s 36-yard touchdown pass to Washington on 4th-and-6 capped an 85-yard drive to make it 28-14 with 10:59 remaining.

The Ramblers pulled within 28-21 on Maloney’s TD pass to Drew MacPherson with 7:47 left, but the Spartans sealed the decision on Palmer’s 17-yard TD run with 2:29 remaining, taking advantage of 2 Loyola face-mask penalties.

Wheaton Academy 27, Chicago Christian 7

The Warriors (2-1, 1-0) controlled both sides of the ball during their 27-7 Chicagoland Christian Conference triumph over Chicago Christian in West Chicago.

Senior London Leflore rushed for 60 yards and a pair of touchdowns while also contributing on defense with an interception and 26-yard return.

“We executed well in all phases of the game,” said Leflore, a transfer from South Elgin. “Our defense really stepped up after that second quarter and we were able to control the pace on offense.”

Senior linebacker Jeremy Johanik recorded a team-leading 12 tackles and added an interception, while Diyonnes King and Logan Oros each had a sack.

Quarterback Nathan Downey completed 9 of 13 passes for 133 yards, while Jake Weston (41 yards) and Charlie Coniaris (36 yards) led the receivers.

Bradley-Bourbonnais 20, Waubonsie Valley 17

Isaac Allison’s touchdown run with 6 minutes remaining lifted Bradley-Bourbonnais (3-0, 1-0) to a 20-17 victory over the Warriors (2-1, 0-1) in their Southwest Valley Green debut.

Trailing 7-0, Waubonsie grabbed a 14-7 halftime lead on Chrisjan Simmons’ TD run, and Josh Tinney’s 70-yard return of a blocked field goal by teammate Stefan Popov.

Cade Valek’s field goal gave the Warriors a 17-14 lead after 3 quarters.

Lockport 41, Neuqua Valley 14

Neuqua Valley slipped to 0-3, 0-1 in the Southwest Valley Blue, following its 27-point loss to Lockport (2-1, 1-0) in Naperville.

The Wildcats scored their touchdowns in the first half – one on a 30-yard pass from Kiet Truong to Ben Stafanski, and the other on Ryan Mascari’s 64-yard interception return off a tipped pass.

Cary-Grove 46, McHenry 7

Cole Eggebraten and Holden Boone combined for 5 first-half touchdown runs, as Cary-Grove (3-0, 3-0) built a 40-0 halftime lead on the way to its 46-7 win at McHenry (0-3, 0-3).

Eggebraten scored on runs covering 3, 34, and 53 yards, while Boone added scoring runs of 44 and 20 yards. Landon Barnett and Ryan Lummis added touchdown runs for the Trojans.

West Aurora 56, Elgin 0

Mason Atkins threw 4 touchdown passes, including a pair to Iowa-bound receiver Terrence Smith, during the Blackhawks’ 56-0 Upstate Eight West win over Elgin.

Michael Williams and Jamarius Hood added touchdowns, as the Blackhawks (3-0, 1-0) built a 49-0 halftime advantage.

Streamwood 36, East Aurora 13

Juan Cortes had touchdown runs of 36 and 40 yards, while Jace Wolf added a 5-yard scoring jaunt during the Sabres’ 36-13 Upstate Eight West victory over East Aurora.

Streamwood (1-2, 1-0), which led 20-6 at halftime, amassed 280 rushing yards while celebrating their Homecoming win.

Benet Academy 42, DeLaSalle 0

Martin Radgowski scored the Redwings’ first 3 touchdowns, one on a punt return, during their 42-0 victory over DeLaSalle.

Ryan Kubacki tossed a pair of TD passes to Luke Doyle and James Collins, as Benet (3-0) led 35-0 at halftime. Doyle returned the second-half kickoff for the Redwings’ final touchdown.

Fenton 54, Elmwood Park 36

The Bison improved to 3-0 for the first time since 2014 with their 54-36 Upstate Eight East victory over Elmwood Park.