Who had the area’s top prep football performances in Week 8?
Whether it’s a batted pass, a clinching first down or a field goal with zeros left on the scoreboard, we’ve seen teams win by almost every conceivable way this season.
Heck, we saw them do all that last weekend alone.
This edition of the High Five tracks the area’s top prep football performances from Week 8.
5. Hunter Prus, OL-DL, South Elgin
The Storm, winner of six straight, sneakily pieced together quite a season thanks in much part to a dominant run game spearheaded by Colorado commit Gavin Mueller.
Prus, a 5-foot-10, 232-pound senior guard, graded out at 93% in last week’s 64-21 Upstate Eight Conference win over Elgin that wrapped up at least a share of the West Division title.
Mueller rushed for 133 yards and a program-record 6 touchdowns while Darrion Thurman added 90 yards and 2 touchdowns to vault over the 1,000-yard mark for a second straight season.
South Elgin has rushed for 650 yards combined the last two weeks.
4. Jackson Rudolph, RB-LB, Wauconda
An ironman during Wauconda’s 25-20 win over Antioch — a win that clinched the Northern Lake County Conference title — Rudolph was a force on both sides of the ball.
The 6-1, 235-pound senior rushed for 132 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries. He made 12 tackles on defense and hit the quarterback on Antioch’s final pass play to help preserve the victory.
3. Dom Klimpke, WR-LB, Aurora Christian
A 5-10, 190-pound senior, Klimpke came up with the play of the game with just over a minute left against Wheaton Academy, knocking down a 2-point conversion pass in a 28-27 Chicagoland Christian Conference victory.
Klimpke, who added 3 tackles including one for loss, snared 5 catches for 95 yards including a diving grab for a touchdown.
2. Gabe Hill, DL, Naperville North
No score opened eyes wider than the Huskies’ 14-6 Southwest Valley Conference win over Lincoln-Way East — playing without injured quarterback Jonas Williams, a USC commit — that broke the Griffins’ 30-game regular-season winning streak.
Thwarting an offense averaging 45 points, Naperville North limited Lincoln-Way East to its lowest point total since the 2022 state title game.
Hill, an Indiana commit, led an effort that spread sideline to sideline. The 6-2, 295-pound senior had 3 tackles including a sack.
1. Jake Nawrot, QB, Hersey
With his team trailing by 22 points heading to the fourth quarter, the 6-5, 200-pound junior rallied the Huskies to a 38-34 victory over Prospect in a key Mid-Suburban League East Division matchup.
Nawrot completed 25 of 40 passes for 339 yards and 3 touchdowns. He was 5 of 7 on the game-winning drive, capping it with his second rushing touchdown to put Hersey on top with 18 seconds left.