Hinsdale South picks off Fenton for 1st playoff win since 2017

It had been a long time since Hinsdale South played in a football playoff game, so they made sure to make the most of it Friday night.

The Hornets used a big attack on the ground and through the air and also intercepted four Fenton passes on their way to a 49-10 Class 5A win, the school’s first playoff win since 2017, and first appearance since 2018.

“I’ve had some good games before but this is one of my best,” running back Orion Christman said after rushing for 192 yards and two touchdowns while taking over after starter Marko Wallace got knicked after only had one carry Friday.

The 22nd-seeded Bison (4-6) had opened the second half with a touchdown and then recovered an onside kick, but that’s when the Hornets defense started taking away the ball and Christman started running wild.

With the score 21-10, the Bison came up short on fourth down and on the very next play Chrisman busted off a 48-yard touchdown run. It was the first of his two second-half scores and Hinsdale South picked off three passes in the third quarter alone to stay in control.

“It was the blocking,” Chrisman said of his long score. “The hole just opened up wide and I knew I had to score.”

Junior defensive back Nathan Navarro came away with two interceptions in the game and a long return on the first pick set the stage for a 14-yard touchdown catch by Connor Jaffrey that made the score 35-10 with four minutes left in the third quarter.

“We gave up that touchdown and we got down, but then we came back strong,” said Navarro, who had not had two interceptions in a game since he played on the freshman team. “As a team we came out and played well on both sides in the first half and we’re ready to play again (next week).”

The Bison finally found the end zone in the third quarter when sophomore quarterback Mikani Williams hit Jaiden Morales for a 4-yard score. But the turnovers and injuries piled up after that score and Hinsdale South pulled away.

“Our kids played hard but the law of attrition got us as eight or nine kids went down,” Fenton coach Mark Farrell said. “It’s an emotional game, especially for the seniors, and when you don’t make the playoffs all the time it can be a learning experience that in these games you lose and you go home.”

A dominating first half had the Hornets in position to advance to next week’s first round at No. 8 seed Cary-Grove.

After turning the ball over on downs on the night’s opening possession, Hinsdale South’s defense forced a three-and-out and took over at the 50. Three plays later the home team led 7-0 after Ben Miller connected with Koby Armstrong for a 48-yard catch and run into the end zone.

Another Bison punt followed and so did another Hornets touchdown, this time on a 2-yard keeper by Miller that made the score 14-0 in the final minute of the first quarter.

Fenton did get on the board with a 25-yard field goal by Danny Radilla and then stopped the Hornets on downs late in the first half. But an interception by senior linebacker Jonathan Mansker two plays later brought the Hinsdale South offense back on the field with 1:27 left to go in the half.

That proved to be more than enough time for Miller to account for his third touchdown of the half, this time a 22-yard pass to Donte Jett, who found an open spot in the left of the end zone to make the score 21-3 at the break. Miller would finish the night with three touchdown passes and one score on the ground.

Hinsdale South coach Jarrod Amolsch knows next week’s game at Cary-Grove will be a challenge, but he expects his guys to be ready to go.

“We’re a 5A school but we play an 8A schedule,” he said. “Cary-Grove is a great program but our kids aren’t afraid.”