Football roundup: Stevenson, Maine South, Hersey, Prospect, Lake Zurich tackle victories

Stevenson bounced back Friday in Lincolnshire.

The Patriots, who were mired in one of the worst starts in recent history, built a 17-point lead and then hung on for a 31-27 win over Warren.

Eli Sigal fired three touchdown passes, two to Brandon Hirsch that covered 12 and 41 yards and another to Tyler Becker for 20 yards. Mlakhai Agee had an 18-yard touchdown run and Ryan Tarr had a 35-yard field goal as the Patriots (2-5, 2-3) led 31-14 heading into the fourth quarter.

The Blue Devils (3-4, 3-2), who got early touchdowns from Jonathan Randolph on an 11-yard run and a 72-yard pass from Xavier Vinson to Michael Busch, put together a huge rally. Randolph scored on a 28-yard run and Vinson threw to Zech Yancey to cut the margin to 31-27 with 3:38 to play.

After a defensive stop, Warren drove to the Stevenson 33 with just over a minute to play. But Stevenson intercepted a pass to claim the victory.

Maine South 49, Vernon Hills 8: Maine South (6-1) cruised to another Central Suburban League crossover victory. The Hawks have played four crossover games and outscored their opponents 202-42. Maine South led 28-0 after one quarter against Vernon Hills (2-5) on their way to a 49-0 halftime lead. Jameson Purcell threw four touchdown passes and ran for another. Keaton Vitel caught three touchdown passes, and Devin Paxson caught the other. Gavin Castellanos also had a rushing touchdown for the Hawks.

Hersey 71, Elk Grove 0: After sitting out last week with their forfeit win over Wheeling, Hersey (7-0, 3-0) showed that it was ready to go on Friday. Jake Nawrot was 19-of-24 passing for 322 yards and six touchdowns and also had a touchdown run. Jaxon Saint Paul (four receptions, 120 yards) had a touchdown catch along with Josh Riggs and Zel Walton, while Dom Wentink and Jackson Travis each had a pair of touchdown catches. Travis, who rushed for 55 yards, also had a touchdown run. Gustavo Quiroz also scored on a 66-yard touchdown run. Jack Mau booted nine extra points and Wentink had two interceptions. Luke Maher threw for 120 yards for Elk Grove (2-5, 0-3), which lost its fifth in a row.

Prospect 50, Wheeling 0: Prospect (7-0, 3-0) remained unbeaten as Wheeling returned to the football field after last week’s forfeit to Hersey. Matthew Donnelly scored on a four-yard run and Jackson Cacini tallied from nine yards out. Cacini also threw 41 yards to Matthew Collins. Wesley Tosch scored on a six-yard run and Kian Varjavandi had a three-yard touchdown run. Tosch and Varjavandi added rushing touchdowns. Alexis Mendoza had 48 yards rushing for Wheeling (0-7, 0-3).

Leyden 40, Morton 6: Leyden (3-4, 2-2) became playoff eligible by beating Morton for the fourth time in a row and ninth time in their last 10 meetings. Sonny Falco fired a pair of touchdown passes for the Eagles and ran for another score.

Lake Zurich 17, Lake Forest 5: Lake Zurich (5-2, 5-0) won its fifth in a row to set up a first-place showdown in the North Suburban Conference at Libertyville next week.

Antioch 48, Grayslake North 6: Kelen Wilson ran for three touchdowns for Antioch (7-0, 5-0). Wilson, who had nine carries for 75 yards, scored on runs of 16, 13 and seven yards. Gavin Stone piled up 94 yards on eight carries, including a one-yard touchdown run. Ethan Patel threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Chance Verden. Antioch also had five interceptions, including a pick-six. Jaylen Newkirk threw a touchdown pass for Grayslake North (4-3, 2-3).

Wauconda 63, Grayslake Central 20: Wauconda (7-0, 5-0) piled up 525 yards on the ground as the Bulldogs rolled. Brody Rudolph had 12 carries for 160 yards and had two rushing touchdowns and one receiving. Brian Hart had 14 carries for 115 yards and a touchdown. Nick Puga carried 10 times for 103 yards and a touchdown, Brody McKenna had six carries for 75 yards and a touchdown. Dean Sassack added a rushing touchdown. Cooper Karaszewski was 4-for-4 passing for 133 yards and three touchdowns, two of which went to Luke Sickmeir, who had three catches for 133 yards. Finn Loomis, Hayden Wolf and Cashton Silton led the Bulldogs with five tackles each while Kelsey Funkhouser was a perfect 6-of-6 on conversion kicks. Rayshaun Wright had 16 carries for 136 yards and three touchdowns for Grayslake Central (4-3, 3-2) and Ken-Ye Pendleton added 91 yards on 13 carries.

Grant 35, Round Lake 6: Jackson Fudala ran for two touchdowns and caught another and Connor Evans ran for two others as Grant (5-2, 4-1) kept pace in the Northern Lake County Conference. Fudala (21 carries, 157 yards) had touchdown runs of 37 and 21 yards and had a 10-yard touchdown reception from Evans, who had scoring runs of two and 12 yards. Round Lake (2-5, 0-5) lost its fifth in a row and got a late nine-yard touchdown run from Julian Gomez.

Marist 12, Carmel 7: Marist led 12-0 in the fourth quarter when Carmel (2-5) rallied. The Corsairs scored on a two-yard touchdown run by Jaquel Edmonds. But Marist (4-3) got the onside kick and then converted a pair of fourth-down plays to hang on.

Lakes 35, North Chicago 16: Ethan Gialo tossed an eight-yard touchdown pass to Anthony Perna as the Eagles (2-5, 1-4) had an easy time with North Chicago.

New Trier 56, Maine West 7: New Trier (6-1) jumped out to a huge lead and cruised past the Warriors (1-6).

Glenbrook South 55, Maine East 0: It was a rough night for Maine East (0-6) as Glenbrook South (5-2) rolled.