Football roundup: Mundelein, Buffalo Grove, Elk Grove, Conant, Fremd snatch victories in Week 2
Cam Earing and Mundelein like fast starts.
Earing, a 6-foot-1 senior, took off like a rocket on the first play from scrimmage. He raced 40 yards for a touchdown as the Mustangs scored the first 33 points to roll past Grayslake Central 39-7 Friday in Grayslake.
Mundelein improved to 2-0 and along with Zion-Benton is one of two North Suburban Conference teams that are unbeaten. The Mustangs will go for three in a row next week when they play at Waukegan.
Mundelein piled up over 300 rushing yards. Earing led the way with 14 carries for 134 yards and two touchdowns. Sladen Poutre had nine attempts for 106 yards and three touchdowns, while Nathan O'Neil rushed 12 times for 74 yards and a touchdown.
Buffalo Grove 41, Deerfield 20: Buffalo Grove (2-0) won the Milwaukee Avenue border war by rolling past the Warriors. The Bison built a 21-0 lead on their way to a 35-7 lead. Matthew Kaput rushed for 205 yards on 22 carries and three touchdowns. Nathan Raef threw for two touchdowns and completed 8-of-10 passes for 112 yards. He threw touchdown passes of 34 yards to Landon Durham and 49 yards to Matthew Hong. Daniel Cazares added a six-yard touchdown run.
Elk Grove 28: Leyden 0: Erik Sandoval (19 carries, 89 yards) ran for two touchdowns and quarterback Luke Maher ran for a score and threw a touchdown pass to Matt Dimaria for eight yards. Elk Grove (2-0) won its first two games for the first time since 2022. Leyden (1-1) was held to 21 rushing yards and was led by Nehemiah Almodovar, who caught three passes for 78 yards.
Conant 26, Taft 7: The Marchese brothers showed off a special bond. Tyler Marchese (7-of-9, 145 yards) tossed a pair of touchdowns covering 49 and three yards to his brother Troy as the Cougars (2-0) remained unbeaten. Tyler Marchese also had a one-yard touchdown run while Ivan Haralanov scored from nine yards out.
Fremd 35, Glenbrook South 21: Will Clark showed he is ready to take over the Fremd offense. Clark, a junior, was 19-of-27 for 341 yards and two touchdown for the Vikings (2-0). He also rushed for 72 yards, including an explosive 59-yard touchdown run. Clark connected with Carter McDonald (8 receptions, 191 yards) on a 55-yard touchdown pass and an 18-yarder. Raizo Ruiz had a two-yard touchdown run by Fremd, while Mateo Ruiz added a one-yard touchdown.
Evanston 14, Palatine 13: Evanston (2-0) threw a 35-yard touchdown pass with two minutes to play to stun the Pirates. Brandon Martino threw a touchdown pass to Michael Hatchett for Palatine while freshman Blake Haas had field goal kicks of 22 and 28 yards.
Grant 41, Glenbrook North 14: Doltyn Longtin rushed for a trio of touchdowns as the Bulldogs (1-1) ran away from the Spartans. Michael Potempa scored on touchdown run, Jackson Fudela scored on a 74-yard run and Connor Evans tallied from 22 yards.
Round Lake 28, Streamwood 27: Round Lake (2-0) rallied to win their first two games of the season for the first time since 2017. Trailing 27-13 at the half, the Panthers got Evan West (15-of-31, 230 yards) and Devin Powell (12 receptions, 150 yards) to put in extra work. The duo connected on a trio of touchdown passes, including the eventual game-winner in the fourth quarter. Jeremiah Kelly also had a big night, rushing 15 times for 102 yards and a touchdown.
Wauconda 56, Maine West 25: Wauconda (2-0) scored on its first four possessions for a 28-0 lead. The Bulldogs piled up 346 rushing yards and were led by Brian Hart, who had 10 carries for 111 yards and two touchdowns. Brody Rudolph had 15 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown. Brody McKenna had eight carries for 52 yards and three touchdowns. Luke Sickmeir added five catches for 101 yards. Kelsey Funkhouser converted all seven of her conversion kicks. Maine West (0-2) got a pair of touchdown runs by Zaire Domino (19 carries, 73 yards). Wyatt Roux (14-of-21, 218 yards) threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to Davion Tate, while Joey Marsh had a fumble return for a touchdown.
Carmel 30, Lake Forest 9: Reed Dangel and Kyron Hart hooked up for a trio of touchdown plays as the Corsairs (1-1) bounced back from their loss last week. Dangel threw scoring passes of 14, 36 and 14 yards to Hart. Milun Katdare had a four-yard field goal from Carmel. Michael Zitella had seven tackles and a fumble recovery while junior Cyrus McGinnis had nine tackles. Eli Turner, Lucas Gonzalez and Issac Henderson all stepped up on their senior night.
Naperville North 21, Libertyville 14 OT: Libertyville (0-2) got stopped on fourth down from inside the one-yard line to fall in overtime. Jackson Yarc (13-of-19, 131 yards) threw a touchdown pass to Brock Williams (6 catches, 74 yards). Yarc also ran for a touchdown.
St. Patrick 56, St. Viator 14: Seamus Rustay scored the first touchdown of the season for St. Viator (0-2) with a 56-yard run in the first quarter against St. Patrick in River Grove. Dylan Bergt raced 85 yards with an interception for a touchdown in the third quarter to keep the Lions in the game at 28-14. But St. Patrick prevailed, winning 56-14 over the visiting Lions. “I was proud of the way the guys played tonight,” said St. Viator coach Robbie Gould. “We competed, fought hard and played physical until the last play. Now we just need to improve our execution.”
Grayslake North 40, Wheeling 7: Jaylon Newkirk threw three touchdown passes as the Knights (2-0) remained unbeaten. Newkirk threw a 16-yarder to Finn McMahon, a 21-yarder to Brooklyn Washington and a six-yarder to Alejandro Romero. Jay Kelly tallied on a 20-yard run and Jason Howard scored from four yards out. Anthony Alvarado, who rushed for 60 yards for Wheeling, scored the Wildcats touchdown. Evan Watanuki, who had six tackles and David Garcia, who had five tackles, paced the Wheeling defense.
Lakes 27, Vernon Hills 6: Ethan Gialo threw a 48-yard touchdown pass to Jason Labelle and Anthony Perna scored on a two-yard run for the Eagles (1-1).
West Chicago 53, Maine East 0: Maine East (0-2) had a difficult time with West Chicago at home. Lazavier Holmes had a fumble recovery for the Maine East.