Big second half sends Hoffman Estates past Conant for Mayor’s title

The 52nd edition of the annual gridiron clash between the two high schools located in the village of Hoffman Estates began on a somber note Friday evening with a moment of silence to honor the man whose name graces the stadium that serves as the home for numerous Hoffman Estates athletic teams.

That man, Dennis Garber, a former principal at Hoffman from 1981-2002, passed away Oct. 2 at the age of 84 after a long illness.

After Conant and Hoffman Estates battled to a tie after the first 24 minutes of action, there needed to be something or someone that could move the contest in their direction toward victory.

In this case it would be the host Hawks doing just that with 17 unanswered second-half points that allowed them to earn the Hoffman Estates Mayor's title with a 24-7 home win that puts them in a position to host an opening round playoff game next weekend. The Hawks picked up their fifth win in the past seven games after an 0-2 start.

"We made some adjustments at halftime and it worked," Hoffman coach Tim Heyse said.

"We were more physical up front and we got some movement. Once we got that field goal, the confidence level was up and our defense was outstanding."

The field goal, a 36-yarder by senior Simon Howarth capped off a nine-play, 61-yard drive that gave the Hawks (5-4, 3-2) a 10-7 advantage.

Next, the Hoffman defense came up big as a junior linebacker Mason Walker stopped Cougars slotback Ty Mickelson with an open-field tackle at the Hoffman 27-yard line on a fourth-and-5 pass from Tyler Marchese.

From there it would be the Hawks tandem of senior Braylin Scales and junior Riley Lennert who helped assume game control as they each carried the ball to paydirt in the final quarter.

Lennert (17 carries, 85 yards) found the endzone for the second time in the game from the Wildcat formation. He found an opening in the Conant defense and took the ball down the left sideline for a 29-yard scoring jaunt and a 17-7 lead with 7:26 to play.

"We've got great blockers who we can trust that (can) help us get to the outside and run there," said Lennert, who had a 9-yard first quarter scoring run.

Next came Scales (15 carries, 128 yards). He gained over 100 of those yards in the second half and capped the Hoffman scoring with a 1-yard run with 3:18 left.

Scales paid homage to his teammates successfully coming together in addition to being prepared to answer the call.

"Whether it's Riley or me we have to handle business and come out strong no matter who we go against,“ Scales said.