Sparkling effort as Libertyville handles Elk Grove

There was Riley Lees, naturally. And there was Libertyville's new all-black uniforms with the matching black helmets sporting a thick orange decal that striped the center.

There was Cam Shaffer's tumbling catch over the short shrubs that manicure the back of the end zone, too. Shaffer's acrobatic grab to end the first half was ruled out of bounds, however. Shaffer limped to the locker room.

"I thought he caught it," said Lees, Shaffer's quarterback.

Lees displayed some opening-night awesomeness as well in Libertyville's 55-28 win over visiting Elk Grove on Friday night. The Northwestern recruit rushed for 307 yards and 6 touchdowns and also completed 10 of 18 passes for 147 yards and no interceptions.

"He's a phenomenal football player, and that's a phenomenal football team," first-year Elk Grove coach John Sigmund said. "Our kids fought hard for the most part. I'm proud of their effort."

Then there was the not-so-pretty. Libertyville committed a staggering 17 penalties for 122 yards. And, with credit to never-say-die Elk Grove, last year's Class 7A state semifinalist never could get to a running clock against a Grenadiers squad that went winless in 2014.

"It's Week 1," said Libertyville coach Mike Jones, acknowledging his team has a lot to clean up before next Saturday's game at Lake Forest Academy. "You come out with a win. Now you got plenty of things to address."

Lees, who rushed for 35 TDs last season, picked up where he left off. On Libertyville's first play from scrimmage, he took the snap out of shotgun formation and did his thing, bursting through a hole at the line before darting, zigging and zagging into the end zone from 72 yards out.

"We just ran a simple play and it worked out," Lees said. "We broke a big one. That was a confidence booster. We feel we're capable of doing the same things. It's just maintaining what we did last year."

Lees ran behind a veteran line featuring Sean O'Malley, Walker Hare, Brad Deberry, Jon Evers and newcomer Tyler Jost. Lees was not sacked, nor tackled behind the line of scrimmage on any of his 19 rushes.

"I had hours to throw the ball," Lees said. "The offensive line is awesome. I'm very confident in them. I've played with them my whole life."

Libertyville scored again on its second possession. Lees' 31-yard pass to Henry Schmidt put the ball at the Elk Grove 3, and Lees raced into the end zone on the next snap. The Wildcats went up 28-0 on TD runs of 7 yards by Noah Moderwell and 3 yards again by Lees. Cam Hays' fumble recovery on an Elk Grove kickoff return set up Lees' third score, which capped a five-play drive.

Elk Grove got on the board thanks to Azeez Alabi's first of 2 rushing touchdowns. But Lees' fourth TD (from 4 yards out) had Libertyville up 35-7 at halftime.

"He's got a great feel for the game," Sigmund said of Lees. "You have to respect the passing game. They had some big drops or it could have really gotten out of hand. He's definitely a dual threat, and he's one of the best players in the state."

Lees started the second half just like he started the game, busting off a 65-yard TD run on the first snap from scrimmage. With the Wildcats up 41-7, he was seemingly done for the night. But Elk Grove struck twice, as quarterback A.J. Lorenz threw consecutive 43-yard touchdown passes to Chuck Flemming and Joe Gatziolis, respectively.

Back into the game came Lees, whose 33-yard TD run made it 48-21. Libertyville got its last touchdown from backup QB Jack Ruskell from 1 yard out.

"We subbed some guys in and they didn't do a great job," Jones said. "We have expectations for them as well."