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Schaumburg hangs 56 points on Niles North

As both Niles North and Schaumburg prepared for In Friday's CSL-MSL crossover clash between Schaumburg and Niles North, one question easily entered both teams' respective thoughts. How could it successfully detonate the other's offensive firepower that combined for 104 points in Week 1?

After 24 minutes of play, it appeared to all in attendance at Gary Scholz Stadium that the host Saxons were successful at diffusing the Vikings' attack, while putting together an offensive explosion the visitors couldn't solve in a 56-12 victory.

"I thought it was a workmanlike effort," Schaumburg coach Mark Stilling said. "I thought our kids were focused, and we talked about us and what we needed to get done."

After spotting Niles North a 6-0 lead on the second play from scrimmage, a 58-yard Jordan Jackson run 46 seconds into the contest, the Saxons seized control of the game on their first snap from center when seniors Luke Jessie and Isaiah Garcia hooked up on a 69-yard bomb that gave the Saxons a 7-6 edge 12 ticks later.

After Schaumburg forced a 3-and-out and a 7-yard punt, it quickly took advantage of a short field by going on a 6- play, 46-yard drive that junior Mike DiGioia ended when he found the end zone from 3 yards out to expand the lead to 14-6 at the 6:23 mark of the first quarter.

DiGioia would make his mark on the contest in the second quarter when he put together a trio of scores that essentially settled matters for the Saxons (2-1). He sandwiched a pair of TD runs (14 and 1 yards) around a 24-yard pick-6 off Viking quarterback Chris Bland (7 of 18, 53 yards) that gave Schaumburg a 35-6 lead at half.

DiGioia (10 carries, 82 yards) received assistance from Jessie, whose 1-yard, third-quarter keeper made it 42-6. Jessie totaled 168 yards passing and rushing, and senior two-way starter Shamaree Brown added 118 yards rushing and receiving to help Schaumburg outgain Niles North 416-146 in total yards. Denny Davis' 3-yard touchdown run with 2:21 left accounted for the squad's final points and yardage.

Both DiGioia and Brown went both ways on the field, working in concert with Anthony Hernandez, Ayobami Arokoyo, Jeremy Serio, J.J. Calabria, Tony Rofrano, Brendan Rodatz, Tyler Fortune, Jeff Hermosillo and Nick Kolasa to bottle up the Viking offense.

It was an effort that held North (2-1) to 35 yards of total offense outside its first and last scores of the game. Giovanni Milam-Pryor's 5-yard, fourth-quarter run brought a 7-play, 45-yard drive to its conclusion.

"I think our defense communicated perfectly well," Hernandez said. "That goes hand-in-hand with our performance on the field, knowing the calls, doing a great job communicating and executing."

Brown gave credit to the off-season conditioning program for keeping him in top form, as he was only on offense last season.

"It's all in the summer (program)," he said. "Last year, I was playing one role. This year, they have me doing more. I have to thank coach Stilling for that."

For Vikings coach Pat Pistorio, whose squad hosts Buffalo Grove in Week 2 of CSL-MSL crossover play, the glass half-full approach summarizes his team's position a third of the way through the season.

"We are very optimistic," he said. "We have a great group of kids who are working hard. We are going to keep working and keep pushing every day."

Schaumburg travels to Deerfield next Friday.

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