Forget about St. Charles’ 1-2 record. The Saints probably will.
That’s because the defending Upstate Eight champions won a crucial conference opener against Lake Park 16-8 Friday night in Roselle.
“We challenged our kids and we talked about defending our title before the game,” St. Charles coach Buck Drach said. “We played with a little intensity tonight, especially on defense.”
St. Charles broke open a scoreless game in the second quarter when Eric Peterson caught a 20-yard pass from Jonathan Drach (17 for 31, 177 yards). Chris Cyr caught a 25-yarder from Drach in the same period to give the Saints a 13-0 lead at the half. St. Charles got a 25-yard field goal from Ryan Ewart in the third.
Joe DeFrain, replacing injured starter Jonathan Peacock, threw a 5-yard TD pass to Joe Santilli for Lake Park (2-1, 0-1) in the fourth.
Morris 37, Plainfield 0: Morris coach Dan Darlington, who is in his 23rd year as a head coach, posted his 200th career victory. He is only the 13th coach in Illinois football history to reach the milestone.
Morris (2-1) led 21-0 at the half after Derek Perry (11 carries, 26 yards) scored on runs of 1, 2 and 4 yards.
Wheaton-Warrenville South 35, Wheaton North 7: Jonathan Schweighardt caught touchdown passes of 17 and 51 yards from Jon Beutjer, giving Schweighardt 448 receiving yards in three games, as the defending 6A champs from Wheaton-Warrenville South avoided an 0-3 start with the victory. The Tigers (1-2, 1-0) rushed for 171 yards in the DuPage Valley game, led by Ryan Conway’s 50.
Cary-Grove 42, Crystal Lake Central 6: Kevin Kaplan rushed eight times for 165 yards, including 154 in the first half, and two TDs to lead Cary-Grove (3-0, 3-0) in the Fox Valley. Larry Pandocchi gained 126 yards and one TD on 15 carries for the Trojans. C.L. Central (2-1, 2-1) didn’t have a first down in the second half.
Lake Zurich 45, Prairie Ridge 0: Josh Hunter scored on a 15-yard interception return, a 1-yard plunge and a 10-yard run to lead Lake Zurich (2-1, 2-1) in the Fox Valley romp. The Bears’ Ryan Goudge carried eight times for 178 yards, including a 40-yard TD run. Prairie Ridge fell to 0-3, 0-3.
Glenbrook South 39, Highland Park 0: Moses Joseph scored on runs of 51, 11 and 22 yards and caught a 41-yard TD pass for Glenbrook South (1-2).
Evergreen Park 35, Riverside-Brookfield 18: Ted Zimmerman returned the opening kickoff 85 yards for a score for the Mustangs (1-2). Eric Bava scored two touchdowns for Riverside-Brookfield (1-2), but Bob Rovy matched that total for Evergreen Park.
York 21, Oak Park 7: Vince Lucca completed 14 of 20 passes for 177 yards and a touchdown, and he also ran for one score to lead York (2-1 past Oak Park (1-2) in the West Suburban Silver opener.
“Vince did a good job of throwing the ball and moving the team downfield,” York coach Gary Grouwinkel said. “And Matt (Hull) did a great job too.”
Hull, a tight end, was crucial on a fourth-and-21 play from York’s own 30-yard line and scored a two-point conversion.
Bremen 41, Rich South 21: Deyonne Harris (86 yards) scored on runs of 2 and 34 yards as the Braves (3-0, 1-0) stayed perfect and took early control from Rich South (1-2, 0-1) in the SICA Green. Bremen quarterback Jesse Isom rushed for 69 yards and one touchdown. Deon Packer proved the Stars’ top highlight with a 92-yard kickoff return in the first quarter.
Fremd 29, Elk Grove 0: Quarterback Pat Brown (9 for 16, 85 yards) threw two touchdown passes to Andre Duncan and rushed for two more as the Vikings improved to 3-0 for the season. The Fremd defense sacked Elk Grove quarterback George Mostardini five times.
St. Viator 38, St. Francis De Sales 0: Brandon Latta rushed for a team-high150 yards and scored on runs of 46 and 55 yards as St. Viator (1-2, 1-0) claimed the Catholic Metro Red opener. Second-string quarterback Jim Dowd, subbing for an injured Jarrett Payton, threw for 119 yards and one touchdown and scored another with a 5-yard run.
Collins 30, Manley 12: Bobby Haney opened the game for Collins (2-1) with a touchdown on a 90-yard kickoff return. Al Chaires (eight carries, 70 yards) added two TDs. Manley is 2-1.
Hubbard 51, Foreman 12: Tim Greer rushed for 158 yards and two touchdowns and also threw for 116 yards and two TDs as Hubbard (3-0) handed Foreman (2-1) its first loss.
Kennedy 20, Hirsch 0: Joe Gray (nine carries, 115 yards) scored on runs of 24 and 15 yards and caught a TD pass from Brad Witowski for Kennedy.
Robeson 46, Corliss 6: Richards Pickens and Kenneth Kendricks scored two TDs to lead Robeson (3-0).
Andrew 40, Reavis 14: Tim Brach rushed for 238 yards and scored on runs of 60 and 85 yards as Andrew (2-1, 1-0) bounced back from last Friday’s overtime loss to Lincoln-Way with the SICA Gray victory.
