Maine South shakes off bye-week rust in first-round blowout of O’Fallon
The usually high-powered Maine South offense took an extra second to get going after an opening-round bye, but a ferocious effort from the Hawks defense ensured a drama-free 49-14 playoff victory over O’Fallon and a date with St. Ignatius in the Class 7A second round.
Maine South surrendered just 85 yards of total offense in the first half to give senior quarterback Jameson Purcell and the Hawks offense the cushion to find their sea legs.
Nick McCarthy and Hugh Stewart each snagged an interception, and Matthew Schlenhart added two tackles for loss as the Hawks (9-1) largely contained O’Fallon’s talented two-headed backfield of sophomore Jackson Parker and senior Luka Freidenberg.
“I don’t think I’ve ever had a bye week in 26 years as a head coach,” said Hawks coach Dave Inserra. “It tested me, tested the boys, tested our coaches to keep everybody focused.”
This season is the IHSA’s first with opening-round bye weeks after the playoffs expanded to 384 teams from 256.
The rust showed for Maine South at the end of the first quarter.
After Schlenhardt gave the Hawks a 14-0 lead with two long touchdown runs in the first quarter, Maine South punted on three consecutive possessions. Purcell struggled to get on the same page with his wide receivers, completing just 1 of 5 passes for two yards over that stretch.
“We stopped ourselves. A couple penalties, me not making the right read, a couple drops,” Purcell said. “I’m glad it happened this week.”
Purcell, a four-star recruit committed to Indiana, found his groove midway through the second quarter, entering halftime with 169 passing yards, 26 rushing yards and two touchdowns as the Hawks rolled to a 28-0 lead. He finished 17-of-29 with 289 yards passing, five touchdowns and one interception while adding 27 rushing yards on three carries.
“I'm a pretty poised player. I know (my teammates) are going to look to me if my head's down. If I'm up, they're going to be up to,” Purcell said of his mindset after that third consecutive punt. “It was just looking at the positives and saying, ‘Hey, boys, we have another opportunity.’”
Senior Devin Paxson brought in eight receptions for 151 yards and two touchdowns, including a full-extension diving catch to extend the Hawks’ lead to 42-0 to start the fourth quarter.
Schlenhardt paced the Maine South running backs to the tune of 62 yards and two touchdowns on four carries, adding two tackles for loss on defense.
O’Fallon’s Friedenberg got the Panthers (6-5) on the scoreboard in the fourth quarter with a 42-yard touchdown run, and Gunner Hoffman found Mason Chamblin for another long garbage-time touchdown to cut the score to 42-14.
Maine South junior quarterback Austin Breaux broke an 84-yard touchdown run in the game’s final minutes to put the finishing touches on the win – and perhaps give Hawks fans a preview of a post-Purcell offense.
The Hawks will stay at home for their clash next weekend with St. Ignatius (8-2), which breezed through its first-round matchup against West Aurora on Friday night 55-7.
“They’re a triple-option team, you don’t see that a lot,” Inserra said. “It’s all about the timing. It’s really hard to replicate in the scout team, so we’re going to have to adjust very quickly within the game.”