Prospect 28, Elk Grove 0

One could call it a statement game. One could even call it a confidence booster.

To Prospect coach Brent Pearlman it doesn't matter what one called it because in the end it's a victory.

Heading into Friday's game against Elk Grove the Knights were looking to bounce back from an upset loss to Wheeling last week. Prospect got just what it needed on senior night at George Gattas Stadium with a 28-0 shutout over the Grenadiers.

"I think the biggest thing is that we avoided turnovers as well as penalties," said Pearlman. "Last week we would move the ball and then self-destruct, but we avoided a lot of those critical turnovers and penalties tonight."

Throughout the season Prospect has relied heavily on its running game and Friday was no exception. Senior Pat Mack made his presence felt with 137 rushing yards for the game.

Mack scored twice for the Knights with his first touchdown coming just before halftime on a 14-yard run up the middle to cap a 64-yard drive.

Mack's second touchdown came only 18 seconds into the third quarter as he broke tackles up the left side and ran in from 65 yards. The quick score was the longest play from scrimmage and all but sealed the victory.

"It was all the offensive line tonight," said Mack in his first extensive offensive action since he was injured in Week 3. "I had trouble in the first half but I eventually found the seams and they made it really easy for me to get a lot of yards."

Prospect's other big contributor on offense was 5-foot-7 senior Tony Beyer, who finished with 117 yards on the ground, all of them in the second half. Beyer added a big touchdown run of his own in the fourth quarter on a 61-yard dash up the left side behind some solid blocking.

"A lot of people said that we were down from last week but we told ourselves to forget what's happened and finish this season off right," said Beyer.

According to Pearlman, Beyer will see a good amount of playing time next week as well at Buffalo Grove.

Elk Grove's top offensive players included quarterback Bryan Bathauer (84 yards rushing) and Kory Laga (50 yards rushing).