Elk Grove off and running under new coach Doll

The football season opener helps both teams work the preseason kinks out of the system before conference play.

And in the case of the Elk Grove Grenadiers, it was important to make a name for themselves and new head coach Brian Doll from New Trier.

However, the Grenadiers' only flaw was letting one 50-yard touchdown go as they trounced Niles North 39-7 on Friday night in Skokie.

"We had unbelievable preparation from everyone on the team," said Doll, "I used the same game plan as I did when I coached New Trier. The O-line did really well; the big boys will get you a 'W.' The boys came hungry and ready to play."

The passing attack of Grenadiers junior quarterback Nick Meyer was overwhelming to the Vikings as he threw was 20-for-24 for 379 yards and 3 touchdowns. Matt McEnery caught 8 passes for 179 yards and 2 touchdowns.

"We saw them biting in the screen play so we exposed it," said Meyer, giving credit to McEnery. "We've been working on plays together for the last three years, and it paid off."

The Grenadiers defense also stepped up with interceptions by McEnery, junior cornerback Kyle Pass and senior linebacker Kyle Pfister.

The Vikings were down 18-0 in the first half but not out of it. After halftime, they came out of the locker room with a 50-yard touch down run from senior running back Johnny Walker.

However, they couldn't answer the combination of Meyer and the defense putting pressure on senior quarterback Michael Granato.

"We didn't play well," said Vikings coach Scott Smith, "We did our job stopping the run, but the secondary couldn't stop the pass, which he [Meyer] did a great job. Doll knew us from the past, but we had no way of knowing how they [Grenadiers] would play."

The Grenadiers will have Palatine next week as they work to change the 44-7 outcome of last season.