King, Barrington rule at Hersey
Last season, it was running back by committee for Barrington.
This year, it's a monarchy.
Nate King scored 4 touchdowns and rushed for 109 yards as Barrington crowned host Hersey 46-7 on Friday in Arlington Heights in a Mid-Suburban League football divisional crossover.
King showed why he has helped Barrington rule from the ground this year, to go with their versatile aerial attack. King, a stout 5-foot-5, 200-pound senior, was a force in the backfield.
"It was a big transition for me," said King, who had over 200 yards rushing last week against Glenbrook South. "I learned a lot from the running backs ahead of me. I am ready for it. It is a tribute to our linemen."
"King has been running hard," Barrington coach Joe Sanchez said. "He has been waiting for his opportunity the last two years. He has been in a loaded backfield, and he is coming out hungry now."
Running behind one an offensive line that features Division I prospects Nick Bart and Alex Serrano alongside J.T. Snyder, John Stefan and Mark Bach, Barrington rolled up 353 yards of offense in the first half and finished with 531 yards.
King capped 3 long touchdown drives with scoring runs of 6, 4 and 2 yards as Barrington led 19-0 early in the second quarter. And when King went to the bench for a breather, Logan Moews had a 56-yard scoring burst to make it 25-0 with 4:45 left in the first half.
Hersey (1-1) mounted its only scoring drive of the day just before the end of the half when Tommy Jackson connected with Zach Cooper on a 31-yard touchdown pass to make it 25-7 at the half.
Barrington (2-0) and King pulled away in the the third quarter.
With the Hersey defense stacked in the box to defend King, Barrington quart back Johnny Davidson hit Jake Zyzda on a pop pass that went for 47 yards and a touchdown.
"It is the scary thing about our offense," Zyzda said. "When you have a guy like Nathan King running the ball defenses have to respect that. And that allows all of us receivers to get free."
Davidson, who finished 13-for-20 passing for 162 yards while rushing for another 75 yards on 9 carries, is happy to have someone else for defenses to key on.
"Nate had a fantastic game," Davidson said. "The line did phenomenal because Nate can't get anywhere without them. People will be keying on him and not worrying about our wide receivers, and that's what makes our offense so explosive."
King added another touchdown on a 4-yard run while Dillon Alexander came in to play quarterback in the fourth quarter and had a 39-yard touchdown run.
Barrington has its home opener next Friday against Elk Grove as MSL divisional crossover play continues.
Hersey, meanwhile, hits the road for the first time this season, with an MSL crossover at Hoffman Estates on Friday.
Barrington's defense kept Hersey's offense, which gained nearly 500 yards a week ago, pretty much in check Friday. Led by Henry Ryan, Blake Holley, Jackson Perkins, Noah Fruecht, David Lozzio, Alec Hansen and Cooper Van Campen, the Broncos held the Huskies to under 150 yards until late in the game, when both teams began to substitute.
"We did some really good things, but we have some things to clean up," said Sanchez, whose team was whistled for 115 yards in penalties. "We were resilient and we didn't let the penalties stop us."
Hersey coach Joe Pardun said his team's lack of experience showed Friday.
"We are trying to figure out where we are at right now," Pardun said. "Obviously our youth is showing up on defense, and we have to fix that.
"We liked the test tonight. We just wish we measured up better."