Warren's Kennedy, Lindal combine for 5 more touchdowns
Greg Kennedy and Tom Lindal seemingly keep scoring all of Warren's touchdowns, but it's not like Kendell Harris isn't trying to contribute his share.
The Warren junior returned a pair of punts into Curie's end zone in the two teams' Class 8A playoff opener in Gurnee on Saturday night, only to see both called back because of penalties.
The same thing happened against Antioch earlier this season to the tough-luck punt returner, who can't seem to buy a touchdown.
"It's been kind of frustrating," Harris, who has 25 receptions but no TDs, said with a grin. "But we're still in the playoffs, so that's all that matters."
Warren's 49-7 win over the Chicago visitors came thanks a combined 5 more touchdowns from the Blue Devils' devilish duo of Kennedy and Lindal, as well as a defensive effort that didn't yield a first down until the lead was 28-0.
Sixth-seeded Warren (8-2) will next play No. 3 Loyola (9-1), which was a 30-0 winner over St. Patrick earlier in the day.
"We're excited to play them," said senior safety Taylor Stahl, who was a postseason call-up when Loyola eliminated Warren, 23-3, in Round 1 of the playoffs two years ago in Wilmette. "We cannot wait."
Warren stretched Curie's state-playoff losing streak to 16 games, as Lindal scored 4 touchdowns while rushing for 65 yards on just 9 carries. Kennedy gained 140 yards on 20 attempts and scored his 23rd TD.
Combined, Kennedy and Lindal have 40 touchdowns.
Stahl nearly got his first after intercepting a pass late in the first half. He was tackled at the Curie 13 after a 45-yard return.
"I tried doing it for the defense," said Stahl, noting Warren's "D" has only 1 score, courtesy of linebacker Addison Clark against Zion-Benton.
The interception was Stahl's second of the season. Not that the hard hitter necessarily cares.
"I don't really like picks that much," Stahl said. "I mean, I'll take them. I just like hitting people."
Warren's defense delivered several hard hits against Curie (6-4), but the Condors stunned the Blue Devils for a touchdown after Lindal's fourth TD, from 1 yard out, made it 35-0 with 2:30 left before halftime.
Flushed from the pocket, Curie's athletic sophomore quarterback Maurice Fleming completed a 44-yard pass to Mitch Altman-McCray down to the Warren 15. Two plays later, Fleming lofted a pass in the end zone to Devante Miller, who made the catch.
"It was just a broken play," Stahl said of the 44-yard completion, which was easily Curie's longest of the game. "They scored once. You can't get mad at that."
Kennedy and Lindal sat out all but the Blue Devils' opening possession of the second half. Junior running back Nolan Sordyl took advantage of the bonus playing time to score touchdowns on runs of 6 and 25 yards. His second TD commenced a running clock with 3:57 left in the third.
Warren never took Curie lightly, limiting the Condors to 116 yards of total offense.
"We knew they were a good team," said Harris, who had 2 catches for 22 yards. "They were fast. They had a lot of guys who could run. They were pretty big, too. So we knew it was going to be a challenge, but we practiced hard all week."