Maine South routs Warren to secure coach Inserra’s 250th victory

Maine South senior quarterback Jameson Purcell was looking for redemption on Friday night.

The Indiana recruit struggled in last week’s blowout loss to state powerhouse Batavia, tossing two interceptions and passing for just 157 yards.

Warren senior quarterback Xavier Vinson had a different issue in a Week 1 blowout defeat to powerhouse Loyola. Vinson suffered a chin injury in the second quarter and watched the rest of the game from the sidelines.

Purcell, a left-hander, completed seven straight passes on the first drive Friday, tossing a 32-yard touchdown to Elliott Arteta.

Meanwhile, the strong-armed Vinson matched his QB counterpart with a 6-for-6 effort and a TD pass on Warren’s opening drive.

But Purcell was just getting warmed up.

Purcell passed for 326 yards and three touchdowns and senior running back Matt Schlenhardt ran for two touchdowns and recorded a pass deflection to power Maine South to a 54-14 victory over Warren in nonconference action at Wilson Field in Park Ridge.

Purcell played just three quarters, completing his first 11 passes to finish 18-for-24 for the game.

For Maine South coach Dave Inserra, Friday night was a milestone victory, not just for beating Warren for the fourth time in a row.

“Overall, the offense was just rolling,” Schlenhardt said. “It’s going to be a great year. The running game was solid and we have great receivers. We have a well spread offense.”

Inserra, who has a 250-56 career record and led the Hawks to four state championships and four runner-up finishes in his two-plus decade tenure, credited his team for a bounce-back victory against a quality opponent. Inserra received a Gatorade bath from his players with a few seconds remaining in the running clock victory, along with a banner honoring his 250th win, a Fathead and the team and coaches all received black 250th victory T-shirts.

“It was a great win for the whole program,” said an emotional Inserra, pausing for several seconds to gather his words. “My mentor was here and I was fortunate to take over for him and just tried to build the program.”

The Hawks scored 20 points in each of the first two quarters, while the Blue Devils’ offense fell into a funk and managed just seven points in each quarter to trail 40-14. Maine South’s defense played a big part in the victory, intercepting three passes.

A week after dropping a 49-35 defeat at highly ranked Batavia, the Hawks (1-1) came out strong on all three sides of the ball. Senior linebacker Evan Adamczewski intercepted a pass and returned the ball 37 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter.

“I saw the quarterback drop back and look my way and saw the ball come right at me and got a few good blocks and ran hard,” Adamczewski said. “The defense played a tough team in our first game, so we knew Warren was also a tough team and we prepared all week for this game.”

After Vinson hooked up with senior wide receiver Michael Bunch for a 28-yard TD strike early in the first quarter, the Blue Devils allowed 26 consecutive points to fall behind 33-7. Vinson hit Bunch for a 34-yard TD strike late in the second quarter to end Maine South’s scoring spree.

Just like the Hawks, the Blue Devils (0-2) were coming off a 31-0 home defeat to Loyola.

The Hawks were certainly glad not to worry about stopping Warren running back Aaron Stewart, who rushed for 2,872 yards and 46 touchdowns last season, on Friday. Warren junior Jonathan Randolph is the new RB1 after the graduation of the highly decorated Stewart. Randolph rushed for 81 yards against the Hawks, and Bunch caught seven passes for 90 yards and a pair of TDs.