Jake Bachmeier stood on the Maine South sideline, and each time Hawks coach Dave Inserra looked in his direction, he would take a step toward the field–only to have some other running back enter the game.
“Are you hurt?” said a teammate.
“No, I’m fine,” said a disappointed Bachmeier.
The coaching staff was being a little cautious with his first game back since he suffered a high-ankle sprain in the season opener five weeks ago.
Well, Bachmeier threw caution to the wind Saturday in Park Ridge. The 5-foot-8-inch, 175-pound speedster broke loose for first-half touchdown runs of 24 and 32 yards in No. 10 Maine South’s 36-13 victory over previously unbeaten Glenbrook South. He broke four tackles on the 32-yarder.
“I was a little tentative until the first time I got hit real hard,” said Bachmeier, who had 13 carries for 106 yards. “Then I said to myself, `That’s enough of that.”‘
Glenbrook South (5-1, 1-1 Central Suburban South) fought to a 13-13 halftime tie behind running back Dontay Marshall’s 5-yard TD run and sophomore quarterback Ryan McGrath’s 12-yard TD pass to Marshall.
“I know the coaches were giving me a breather because I wasn’t in top shape,” Bachmeier said. “This feels great being back.”
Maine South (5-1, 2-0) scored 23 unanswered points in the second half on QB Tyler Knight’s 5-yard pass to Carl Michas, Knight’s 24-yard field goal and a game-breaking 52-yard pass play to Adam Fee. Dan Feiereisel returned an interception 93 yards for a TD on the game’s final play. Knight was 23 of 29 for 268 yards.
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bsakamoto@tribune.com
