Fox Valley and DuPage County football roundup: Elgin notches 1st win; DGN improves to 5-0

Elgin 53, East Aurora 0

Senior quarterbacks Nic Avina and Darin Ward combined for 169 yards passing and a pair of touchdowns to lead Elgin (1-4, 1-1) to its first victory of the season, 53-0, over East Aurora during Upstate Eight West action in Aurora.

Aiden Coleman (13 carries, 83 yards), Ward (4 carries, 80 yards), Fabian Ramirez (7 carries, 70 yards), and John Martinez added rushing touchdowns, while senior Jeremiah Hill (7 catches, 63 yards) and sophomore Jayden Gray (1 catch, 61 yards) had receiving touchdowns for the Maroons.

Defensively, Jaycob Rosas recorded an interception, and teammate Jiyion Holmes had 3 pass deflections.

East Aurora slipped to 0-5.

Burlington Central 24, McHenry 14

Senior quarterback Jackson Alcorn completed 16 of 19 passes for 259 yards and 3 touchdowns during Burlington Central’s 24-14 Fox Valley Conference victory over host McHenry (1-4).

Senior receivers LJ Kerr (5 catches, 124 yards) and Caden West (5 catches, 84 yards) each scored touchdowns for the Rockets (4-1), who extended their winning streak to 4 — their longest since 2014.

Senior middle linebacker Zach Samaan paced the defense with 10 ½ tackles and a fumble recovery, while Kerr recorded 7 ½ tackles.

Burlington Central can become playoff eligible for the first time since 2014 with a home victory over Jacobs Friday night.

Glenbard South 58, Elmwood Park 7

Freshman tailback Elijah Donahue tallied 3 first-quarter touchdowns to lift the Raiders (4-1, 3-0) to a 58-7 Upstate Eight East triumph over Elmwood Park in Glen Ellyn.

Donahue caught a 53-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Tommy Bauman to give the Raiders an early 7-0 lead.

On Elmwood Park’s next possession, Ari Ioannov recorded an interception inside Raiders’ territory. Following a 25-yard run, Donahue raced 28 yards for his second touchdown to extend Glenbard’s lead to 14-0.

Raiders coach Ryan Crissey used the wind to his advantage, calling a pair of late first-quarter timeouts, as the defense forced a 3-and-out series and short punt near midfield.

Donahue scored on a 55-yard touchdown run, as the Raiders jumped out to a 21-0 lead after 1 quarter.

Glenbard East 41, Ridgewood 8

The Rams (4-1, 2-0) broke open a tight game with 27 unanswered points during their 41-8 Upstate Eight East victory over Ridgewood in Norridge.

Ahead 7-0, quarterback Michael Nee connected with Amonte Cook for a 54-yard gain to set up Kedrick Davis’ 14-yard touchdown run, extending the Rams’ lead to 14-0.

After the Rebels pulled within 14-8 on a touchdown and successful 2-point conversion, the Rams kicked into another gear.

Nee hit Cook with a 35-yard pass, and a few plays later, the Rams’ quarterback scored on a 20-yard touchdown run to make it 21-8.

In the fourth quarter, the Rams padded their lead on Cook’s 24-yard touchdown run.

Wheaton Academy 56, St. Edward 0

The Warriors (4-1) improved to 3-0 in Chicagoland Christian Conference play with a 56-0 victory over St. Edward (0-5, 0-3) in West Chicago.

Wheaton Academy wasted little time, scoring 4 touchdowns in the opening quarter.

Senior quarterback Nathan Downey led the way, completing 5 of 8 passes for 102 yards and a pair of touchdowns. His 16-yard strike to Charlie Coniaris and 45-yard pass to Gino Spinelli gave the Warriors a comfortable early lead.

KJ Brooks then provided one of the night’s defensive highlights with his 20-yard interception return for a touchdown, making it 14-0.

Brandon Kiebles added a pair of rushing touchdowns to extend the lead to 28-0 after 1 quarter.

Wheaton Academy put the game out of reach before halftime with 3 more second-quarter touchdowns. London Leflore (6 carries, 81 yards) had a pair of rushing touchdowns, including a 38-yard burst, while Kiebles (5 carries, 51 yards) added his second rushing score of the game, extending the halftime margin to 49-0.

Junior Tyler Jones capped the scoring with a 14-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.

Defensively, the Warriors limited St. Edward to 20 yards of total offense.

West Aurora 62, Bartlett 7

The high-flying Blackhawks (5-0, 3-0) remained unbeaten following their 62-7 Upstate Eight West road victory over Bartlett (1-4, 1-2).

West Aurora, which has scored 266 points in 5 games, cruised to a 27-0 first-quarter lead before stretching it to 48-0 by halftime.

Junior quarterback Mason Atkins completed 11 of 13 passes for 226 yards and 4 touchdowns. Atkins’ 1-yard touchdown keeper made it 40-0 early in the second quarter.

Reece Powers (4 catches, 63 yards) hauled in a pair of touchdowns, while Michael Williams, Azuriah Sylvester, Nicholas Bynum, and Maysaun Phillips added touchdown runs. Sophomore tailback Bryce Riley rushed for 80 yards on 6 carries.

Sylvester paced the defense with a team-high 8 tackles.

Waubonsie Valley 28, Stagg 7

Junior quarterback Colin Ford ran for a touchdown and passed for another during the Warriors’ 28-7 victory over Stagg in Palos Hills.

With its first-ever Southwest Valley Green win, Waubonsie Valley improved to 3-2, 1-1.

Trailing 7-0, Gavin Ali Hanlon recovered a muffed punt to set up Ford’s touchdown run to tie it at 7-7.

The game remained deadlocked until the fourth quarter, when the Warriors tallied 3 unanswered touchdowns.

Ford’s 5-yard TD toss to Joshua Tinney provided the go-ahead score early in the final period before Chrisjan Simmons provided a pair of insurance touchdown runs.

Stagg is now 2-3, 0-2.

South Elgin 38, West Chicago 21

The Storm (2-3) scored 31 unanswered points to build a 38-7 second-half lead on the way to their 38-21 Upstate Eight crossover triumph over host West Chicago (3-2).

Senior tailback Darrion Thurman rushed for 175 yards on 27 carries and scored a pair of touchdowns for South Elgin. Thurman’s 7-yard touchdown run gave the Storm a 7-0 lead before the Wildcats tied it on Robert Lee’s 11-yard TD jaunt.

Junior quarterback Carter McDonald and Thurman connected on a 25-yard screen pass for the go-ahead touchdown. Sam Cutinello booted a 33-yard field goal before DeAngelo McCullough’s 22-yard touchdown run made it 31-7.

Middle linebacker Zacharia Barkho led the Storm with 4 ½ tackles.

West Chicago junior quarterback Carter Naranjo rushed for 211 yards, highlighted by his late 18-yard touchdown run, while Lee finished with 108 yards on the ground.

It marked South Elgin’s 9th consecutive win over West Chicago.

Larkin 22, Streamwood 20 (OT)

The Royals (2-3, 2-1) converted the go-ahead 2-point conversion in overtime to edge Streamwood, 22-20, at Memorial Stadium.

Larkin grabbed a 6-0 advantage on Elijah Walker’s 61-yard touchdown run before the Sabres (1-4, 1-2) took a 7-6 lead on Jace Wolf found the end zone from 6 yards out.

Quarterback Julius Yandell, Jr. sprinted down the left sideline for a 62-yard touchdown and converted a 2-point pass to put the Royals back on top, 14-7, but the Sabres forced overtime on Juan Cortes’ 32-yard touchdown run with 4:55 remaining.

Downers Grove North 28, Oak Park-River Forest 7

The Trojans (5-0, 3-0) became playoff eligible with a 28-7 victory over Oak Park-River Forest.

Leading 14-7 after 1 quarter, Downers Grove North put the game out of reach with a pair of third-quarter touchdowns.

Locked in a first-place tie with Lyons Township atop the West Suburban Silver standings, Downers Grove North visits York (5-0, 2-0) Friday night in Elmhurst.