Grant downs Round Lake for first win

Grant's football team might have to do without starting safety John Bolton a while longer.

That's because the sophomore was exceptionally good in his first varsity start at quarterback Friday night.

"I miss playing defense, but it wasn't too bad," Bolton said with a grin after rushing 16 times for 193 yards and scoring 3 touchdowns to lead visiting Grant to a 32-6 win over Round Lake in the teams' Northern Lake County Conference opener, spoiling the Panthers' senior night.

"No. 4 (Bolton) played his tail off," Round Lake coach Cristo Garza said after his Panthers fell to 1-2.

Bolton, who played one snap on defense late in the first half, helped the Bulldogs earn their first win of the season after opening with losses to Bradley-Bourbonnais and Glenbrook North.

"The locker room was way better than after our last two losses," Bolton said. "It was my first-ever varsity win so it was a great experience."

The 5-foot-8, 150-pound Bolton attempted only 5 passes, completing four for 24 yards. He was a quarterback on the freshman team last year, but is admittedly more of a runner than a passer. The speedster ran on Grant's state-qualifying 400-meter relay team last spring.

"He did well, and our offensive line did well," Grant coach Chris Robinson said. "We're really understanding that it's a group effort. We're changing our mindset: If one play doesn't go right, we get after it on the next play."

Bolton opened the scoring with a 19-yard burst in the second quarter. His second touchdown, a 61-yard dash in the third quarter, came three plays after Grant, leading just 14-6, stopped Round Lake on fourth down from the visitors' 13.

Bolton added a 9-yard TD run on Grant's next series.

"Just reading my keys," Bolton said of the key to his performance. "Coach (Josh) Christian (offensive coordinator) told me exactly what I had to do almost every play. I just listened to what he said and we were good to go."

Christian told Bolton earlier in the week that he might get some snaps at quarterback against Round Lake. In addition to safety, Bolton played wide receiver in the Bulldogs' first two games.

Grant running back Noah Lautner also had a big night running behind Ryan Tevaga (season debut after an injury), Gordie Kiesgen, Anthony Karow, Jalen Coffea and Austin Fudala. Lautner carried 15 times for 109 yards, and his 28-yard touchdown run put Grant up 14-0 in the second quarter.

Grant held Round Lake wide receiver Kevonne Peterson to 1 catch for 5 yards, after the 6-3 junior had 3 TD receptions in the Panthers' win over Maine East last week. Peterson had a 32-yard touchdown reception from Isaiah Nixon early in the game called back because of a holding penalty.

"The theme is going to be, 'OK, when they take away one of the guys that have had a big game, who's going to step up?' " said Garza, whose Panthers got a 2-yard TD run from Brandon Kisiel in the second quarter. "We just couldn't get it going."

Lautner and Ethan Geist had interceptions for Grant, accounting for the game's only turnovers.

Tyler Elfering, who started at QB for Grant the last two weeks, threw a 1-yard touchdown pass to Luke Bedrosian in the fourth quarter to cap the scoring.

"They both have positive attributes," Robinson said of his quarterbacks, Elfering and Bolton. "We just wanted to see what we could get (from Bolton)."

They got a win - and more.