Football roundup: Hersey’s forfeit victory is a program milestone

Hersey won its 300th football game in school history this week. But it was a win that the Huskies earned without even kicking off.

Wheeling was forced to forfeit Friday night’s game when it was determined that the Wildcats would not have enough healthy players to play all 11 positions.

“Choosing not to play last week was not what anybody here wanted,” said Don Rowley, Wheeling athletic director. “But the bottom line was that it was a safety issue. Our numbers were too low that we did not have enough healthy players to field a team at all the positions.”

It was the first football forfeit in Mid-Suburban League history. Rowley said Wheeling plans to play in its final three games of the season, including next week against Prospect.

“This game was the only game we canceled,” Rowley said. “We intend to play our last three regular-season games.”

When notified earlier this week regarding the forfeit, Hersey coach Tom Nelson and the Hersey school staff attempted to secure a replacement game for the Huskies. Calls were made to schools in a six-state area around Illinois, but to no avail.

“We tried everyone who had an open date,” Nelson said. “And we offered to travel to play a game. We just couldn’t get anyone to play.”

Maine South 56, Niles West 0: Maine South (5-1) rolled again in another CSL crossover game. The Hawks alternated series between the first and second teams and scored on all seven possessions. Jameson Purcell was on the field for three plays and was 3-of-3 passing for 157 yards and three touchdowns. Nick McCarthy caught a 75-yard touchdown pass and Elliott Arteta caught a pair of touchdown passes.

St. Viator 30, Marian Catholic 21: St. Viator on Saturday broke their 13-game losing streak as the Lions (1-5, 1-1) ran over Marian Catholic. Dylan Molina and Danny Travers combined for 16-of-22 and 228 yards passing and three touchdowns. Molina threw touchdown passes of 45 yards to Jax Baker and 16 yards to Ben Bergt. Travers threw an eight-yard touchdown pass to Baker, who finished with 101 receiving yards. Seamus Rustay scored on a 12-yard touchdown run and finished with 78 rushing yards and seven tackles on defense.

Antioch 36, Lakes 6: Antioch (6-0, 3-0) won easily over its district rival to remain tied with Wauconda for the Northern Lake County lead. Alan Sakalowski had a seven-yard touchdown run, Gavin Stone, who rushed for 92 yards, scored on an 11-yard run. Ethan Patel fired a 47-yard pass to Logan Lennon. Chance Verden returned a kickoff for a touchdown, and Lennon added a pick-six. Ethan Gialo scored on a one-yard run for Lakes (1-5, 0-4).

Wauconda 69, Round Lake 6: Luke Sickmeir gave Round Lake (2-4, -0-4) fits. The senior had 6 catches for 134 receiving yards and a touchdown. He also had four interceptions, including one that was returned for a touchdown as Wauconda (6-0, 4-0) rolled. Brian Hart had nine carries for 116 yards and three touchdowns to go with his five tackles. Brody Rudolph finished with nine carries for 89 yards and two touchdowns and had a fumble recovery. Logan Ryback, Dean Sassack and Charlie Buschick each ran for a touchdown. Cooper Karaszewski was 9-of-14 passing for 161 yards and a touchdown. Kelsey Funkhouser was 9-of-9 on conversion kicks. Cashton Silton, Nathan Yandura and Jackson Ryan each had an interception.

Grant 24, Grayslake North 21: Grant (4-2, 3-1) built a 24-14 lead after three quarters and then hung on for the win. Jackson Fudala (22 carries, 87 yards) scored on a one-yard run, and Doltyn Longtin (12 carries, 73 yards) scored on runs of two and four yards. Chris Urbina booted a 38-yard field goal to help build that lead. Jaylen Newkirk tried to rally Grayslake North (4-2, 2-2). Newkirk, who finished with a trio of touchdown passes to Brooklyn Washington, tossed a 12-yard scoring strike to Washington in the fourth quarter to close the gap to 24-21. Newkirk then drove the Knights to the Bulldogs’ 37-yard line last in the game. But Grayslake North turned the ball over on downs.

Grayslake Central 35, North Chicago 26: Grayslake Central (4-2, 3-1) rallied from a 20-15 halftime deficit to pick up the victory. Rayshaun Wright (18 carries, 113 yards), who scored earlier on a six-yard run, scooted in for a seven-yard touchdown early in the third quarter to put the Rams up for good. Ken-Ye Pendleton (19 carries, 287 yards) then sealed the win with touchdowns runs of 47 and 33 yards in the final 4:16 to play to seal the win. Jayden Musial caught a 13-yard touchdown pass from Grayson Aliff.

Hoffman Estates 13, Schaumburg 0: Braylin Scales tipped things in favor for Hoffman Estates (3-3, 1-1). Scales rushed for 154 yards and a touchdown. Simon Howarth had field goals of 31 and 40 yards for the Hawks. Hoffman Estates’ defense — led by Riley Lennert, Mason Walker, defensive linemen Damir Duharkic and Calvin Collins — held Schaumburg to 82 rushing yards. The secondary of Chase Williams, Andre Morris, Jayden Setto and Bryson Baldwin kept the Saxons passing game in check, limiting them to 91 yards. Mason Heydecker had 41 receiving yards for Schaumburg (1-5, 0-2).

Niles North 35, Maine West 21: Davion Tate caught an 80-yard touchdown pass from Ryan Cooper early for Maine West (1-5, 1-1) to make it 7-0. But the Warriors just couldn’t hang on. Tate scored again on a 14-yard run. Cooper (9-of-16 passing, 137 yards) later connected with Ethan Ou on a nine-yard touchdown pass for Maine West.

Vernon Hills 54, Maine East 6: Vernon Hills (2-4, 1-1) closed in on a playoff spot. Colin McMurray threw for four touchdowns and 232 yards. He also ran for 93 yards and scored a touchdown. Jaelon Landers ran for 66 yards and a touchdown. Augie Leahy caught three passes for 104 yards and two touchdowns. Andrew Grossnickle caught a touchdown pass, and Liam Wozniak had a touchdown catch and a punt return for another score. Wozniak, Grossnickle and Mikey Lewis each had an interception. Lewis also led the way with nine tackles, Jonathan Keats had seven and Carson Alper six. Maine East fell to 0-6, 0-2.

St. Ignatius 52, Carmel 28: The Corsairs (2-4) fell behind and were never able to claw back against Ignatius (5-1). Jorden Moore had a 12-yard touchdown run for Carmel. Jaquel Edmonds scored on a five-yard run. Reed Dangel fired a pair of touchdown passes covering 44 and five yards to Kyron Hart, and Milun Katdare booted a 26- yard field goal.

Addison Trail 48, Leyden 20: Addison Trail jumped to a 35-0 lead in the third quarter. Leyden (2-4, 1-2) got on the scoreboard when Sonny Falco threw a 49-yard touchdown pass and a conversion pass to Armani Santana, and Juan Vega had touchdown runs of four and two yards.