Hersey, Nawrot rout Hoffman Estates for 2-0 Start
Final score: Hersey 42, Hoffman Estates 6
Records: Hersey (2-0), Hoffman Estates (0-2)
Player of the game: Hersey senior QB Jake Nawrot. The Kentucky commit went 12 of 19 for 219 yards and 4 TDs. Two of the touchdowns went to junior wideout Jaxon St. Paul — a 22-yarder on their opening possession of the game and a 27-yard rainbow with just 13 seconds remaining until the break.
Nawrot also made a scoring connection to fellow Huskies senior Josh Riggs to make it a 14-0 lead with 2:27 left in the opening quarter and closed out the scoring with a 6-yard toss to Kye Parker-Peterson with 5:52 left in the third to bring on the running clock.
Other statistical leaders: Hersey’s Jackson Travis (RB) 10 carries, 72 yards, two touchdowns: Josh Riggs (WR) 3 catches, 70 yards, 1 TD; Jaxon St. Paul (WR) 3 catches, 59 yards, 2 TDs. Hoffman’s Shion Dailey (QB) 14 or 22 passing for 100 yards, TD; Braylin Scales (RB) 22 carries, 75 yards, Kacper Janicki (WR) 6 catches, 49 yards, TD
Turning point: After the visitors scored first, Hoffman drove to the Hersey 31 before Hawks QB Shion Dailey was sacked for a 6-yard loss by senior DL Spiro Zarafinitis.
First half highlights: Hersey found paydirt in each of its five first-half possessions that included a pair of TD runs by Travis (2 and 5 yards) that built up a 35-0 halftime advantage.
Second half highlights: The home team finally found the end zone on the second play of the final stanza when Dailey found Janicki at the goal line as he beat a Hersey defender for their only points on a 20-yard scoring pass.
X-factor: In this meeting, the first for the schools since 2015, the visitors from Arlington Heights pinned the biggest margin of defeat in Hoffman coach Tim Heyse's 10 seasons at the helm as their 0-2 start is the first for the Hawks since 2012.
Quotes: "There were some rough things (early). Details were a little off, but you can't complain with a 36-point win," Nawrot said. "The guys played well. They worked hard all week. I'm real proud of them."
"It's a great win," Huskies coach Tom Nelson said. "Always good to get a win on the road. It's a new experience for a lot of our players and we've got to keep attacking. We've got things to work on, things to improve on. It's a daily process for us and we're going to stick to that."