Vernon Hills' big-time stars produce big time
It's nice to have the luxury of two Division I football players at your disposal, especially at a critical juncture in a state playoff game.
Such was the case for Vernon Hills in the Cougars' Class 5A road playoff game at Tinley Park on Saturday.
Clinging to a 30-22 lead, the No.4-seeded Cougars needed a big play against the No. 12 Titans and they got just what they needed when they needed it from Notre Dame-bound senior DaVaris Daniels.
On a play that coach Tony Monken called a "Trick-Corey" play after offensive coordinator Corey Atwell, Daniels went on a double-reverse and wound up 87 yards later in the end zone. His scamper solidified a 37-22 win for the Cougars and a trip to the quarterfinals for the first time since 2001.
Vernon Hills will host top-seeded Kaneland on Saturday in the quarterfinals.
"We don't like to use Evan (Spencer) and DaVaris all that much because we don't want to wear them out," Monken said.
"We could give them the ball every play, but we try and pick and choose our spots and we did that tonight."
Vernon Hills (10-1) used plenty of tricks and it started on the opening kickoff.
The Cougars jumped on the short opening kick and marched right down the field. Vernon Hills scored on three of its first four possessions. Daniels hit the end zone first with a 15-yard scoring play with 7:49 left in the first quarter.
"You try and pick what you want to take away, but you can't stop everything," Tinley Park coach Nick Johnston said. "We tried to take away what they were doing, but those two are tough to defend."
It wasn't just the Daniels or Spencer show for the Cougars.
Seniors Marcus Bradford and Brian Palmer contributed mightily for the Vernon Hills offense. Palmer did the dirty work by rushing for 100 yards on 20 carries, and Bradford rushed for 60 yards on 4 carries including a 55-yard scoring run that put the Cougars up 16-0 early in the second quarter.
"Marcus and Brian do so much for this offense," said Daniels who totaled 207 yards from scrimmage. "What they do forces other teams to have to concentrate on them gives them other things to concentrate on."
Spencer got into the act just before half with a 42-yard scoring run to make the lead 23-0 just before the break.
Tinley Park (7-4) closed the gap behind the play of senior quarterback Kyle Sheridan and senior running back Hassan Abdullah.
Abdullah rushed for 136 yards, including a 7-yard score to cut the margin to 30-22 with 9:22 to go in regulation.
Then Daniels hit the end zone for the third time to put the game out of reach.
"We were in a simple base defense and we didn't rotate over in time," Johnston said. "They have big-play capabilities and big play players and their guys stepped up and made the plays."