Forget student body right and left. Hinsdale Central made it P.J. Beuke right, left and center.
Beuke, a 5-foot-11-inch, 200-pound senior, scored three touchdowns and carried the load in the fourth quarter in Friday night’s 20-14 victory at Downers Grove North.
Beuke scored a touchdown with 4:47 left to give the 20th-ranked Red Devils the come-from-behind victory. On Hinsdale Central’s decisive final drive, he carried the ball on seven of eight plays. On his 33rd carry of the night, he punched it in from the 2-yard line with 8.5 seconds left.
“We played all out,” said Beuke, who finished with 162 yards. “Nobody left anything on the field. This is the best feeling I’ve had in all my years of football.”
The 18th-ranked Trojans roared back after the break. Senior running back Tom Conroy ripped off a 68-yard run to tie the game 7-7 with 6:42 left in the third quarter.
Downers Grove North seemed to own all the momentum 5:24 later when senior Matthew Blecha picked off a pass from Brett Morse and returned it 21 yards for a 14-7 Downers North lead.
Hinsdale Central changed quarterbacks and its fortunes. Red Devils coach Tony Lombardi inserted senior Mike Newlin, and the 6-3, 225-pound senior came out firing. The passing attack along with Beuke’s running turned the tide for Central.
“They needed a spark,” Lombardi said of the quarterback change. “I think one of the main jobs of the head coach is to change momentum.”
The move worked to swing the edge and control of the West Suburban Silver back to the Red Devils (4-0, 2-0).
Downers Grove North (2-2, 1-1) was hampered by an injury to starting quarterback Garrett Edwards. The Trojans started Matt Shelhamer and kept the attack on the ground.
“The plan was to go in for the passing downs,” said Edwards, who was nursing a bad knee and quadriceps. He followed the plan until entering the game for good late in the second quarter. “I had to play through the pain. I did the best I could.”
The Red Devils held a 7-0 first-half lead after Beuke’s first-quarter 2-yard run.
The Red Devils owned field possession in the fourth quarter. Most of the plays took place deep in Trojans territory.
“In the end, we couldn’t get past the 50-yard line,” Downers South coach John Wander said. “And that’s the cardinal rule of football.”
