DuPage County/Fox Valley football roundup: Lake Park impresses in opener; Kaneland wins big
Lake Park senior quarterback George Tzamouranis completed 9 of 12 passes for 83 yards and a touchdown while adding 56 yards and a rushing score during a 35-13 nonconference victory over Conant Friday night in Roselle.
Senior running back Kendan Ratini carried the ball 11 times for 95 yards and a touchdown, while Taysean Kemonte Smith and Joey Michelini added rushing TDs for the Lancers, who finished with 207 yards rushing on 31 carries.
Senior receiver Niki Menos led the Lancers with 5 receptions for 62 yards and a touchdown.
Hinsdale Central 56, West Aurora 7: Hinsdale Central (1-0) amassed 442 yards of total offense, including 270 yards passing from senior quarterback Riley Contreras during its 56-7 nonconference triumph over West Aurora (0-1) Friday night in Aurora.
Contreras provided a game highlight when he connected on an 80-yard touchdown pass down the middle to Dominic Tresslar, who later added an 11-yard touchdown run. Contreras also hit James Skokna with a 49-yard bubble screen to set up another score.
Defensively, the Red Devils limited the Blackhawks to 22 rushing yards.
West Aurora quarterback Mason Atkins finished 11 of 30 for 179 yards and an interception, while senior receiver Antonio Higgins caught 3 passes for 112 yards.
Kaneland 44, Rock Island 7: Carter Grabowski scored 4 touchdowns, highlighted by his 94-yard kickoff return on the first play of the season, to help lift Kaneland (1-0) to a 44-7 nonconference road win over Rock Island (0-1) Friday night.
Senior quarterback Jalen Carter tossed a pair of touchdown passes to Jackson Little and Grabowski, as the Knights cruised to a 42-0 halftime lead before adding a second-half safety.
Wheaton North 34, Simeon 20: The Falcons built a 20-0 halftime lead and withstood a late Simeon challenge during Friday night’s 34-20 nonconference win in Wheaton.
Shane Diericx scored on a 13-yard touchdown run, while kicker Eli Koenig accounted for 10 points, booting a pair of field goals and all 4 PAT attempts.
Senior receiver Tyler Kading added 3 receptions for 67 yards for the Falcons (1-0).
Simeon quarterback Anthony Croom, Jr., threw for 155 yards and a touchdown, while adding 84 rushing yards and a TD.
Addison Trail 41, Streamwood 13: Senior quarterback Nico Dill got things started early, scoring on a 48-yard run just 1:18 into the game, during Addison Trail’s 41-13 nonconference victory over visiting Streamwood Friday night.
Gio Ortiz added a pair of 2-yard touchdown runs, as the Blazers built a 21-0 lead.
Streamwood answered with Dion Morris’ defensive touchdown off a fumble recovery to make it 21-7 before the Blazers padded their lead on Dill’s picture-perfect 68-yard TD pass to Noah Cruz.
Sophomore Ayden Smith added a pair of second-half scores for the Blazers, while the Sabres’ final touchdown came on a 12-yard run from Shazeb Ahmed in the fourth quarter.
West Chicago 40, Round Lake 6: The Wildcats made the most of their season-opening road trip, amassing 407 yards on the ground during Friday night’s nonconference win over Round Lake.
Junior tailback Liam Ziberski carried the ball 11 times for 184 yards and a touchdown, while senior quarterback Carter Naranjo completed all 3 of his pass attempts, including a TD strike to Jonathan Ocampo.
Senior Jay’Veon Chester added a pair of touchdown runs, while Roman Zolota and Lucas Wheat each had 2-point conversions for the Wildcats (1-0).
Glenbrook South 35, York 28 (OT): The Titans recovered a fumble on 3rd-and-goal from the 2-yard line to escape with a 35-28 overtime victory over York (0-1) Friday night in Northbrook.
Tailback Henry Duda scored a pair of touchdowns for the Dukes (48 yards and 1 yard), while quarterback Andrew Tinch added a 73-yard TD run.
Trailing 21-19, York sent the game into overtime with 9 unanswered points in the fourth quarter.
Elgin 20, Fenton 14: The Maroons received big-time contributions from several underclassmen during their 20-14 Upstate Eight crossover victory over Fenton Friday night in Bensenville.
Sophomore Lamarin Powell carried the ball 6 times for 106 yards, highlighted by his 87-yard touchdown run, while junior Anthony Foster had 85 yards rushing and a TD, and freshman Pierre Portis added a 28-yard TD run, as Elgin avenged last season’s 35-14 loss to the Bison.
Defensively, the Maroons were led by Coreyon Johnson (11 tackles), Dan Beckett (8 tackles, interception), and Omar Baeza (8 tackles).
Metea Valley 35, Downers Grove South 19: Zoelen Terry scored on a 66-yard flip pass from quarterback Charles Larson to give Metea Valley the lead for good at 20-19 in the third quarter, and the Mustangs scored the next 15 points on the way to a 35-19 nonconference victory over Downers Grove South Friday night.
First-year head coach Pat Sheehan earned his first victory, as Metea scored touchdowns in every quarter.
Quarterback Charles Larson got the Mustangs on the board first with a 22-yard touchdown pass to Trent Sterling. Junior Marquis Brown added a 5-yard TD run to make it 14-0 before Downers Grove South tallied 19 unanswered points.
Quarterback James Sobkowiak tossed a 13-yard TD pass to Antoine Hardin in the last minute of the first half before Daniel Mensah scored on a 4-yard run and Sobkowiak connected with Aidan Kanazawa for a 39-yard TD strike to give Downers South a 19-14 lead.
Metea netted a second-half safety on Christopher Jordan’s blocked punt (out of the end zone), and Jordan later caught a 46-yard TD pass from Larson before the quarterback capped the scoring on a 29-yard run.
Orr 26, Westmont 14: Yannis Tutuianu topped the 100-yard mark with 114 yards rushing on 11 carries and a 45-yard touchdown during Westmont’s 26-14 home loss to Orr Friday night.
Cyrus Westbrook finished 6 of 10 for 107 yards and a touchdown and added a rushing score for Orr.