A splendid defensive effort and just enough offense fueled Carmel’s 10-8 East Suburban Catholic win over Notre Dame on Friday, Sept. 30, in Mundelein.
The Corsairs (3-3, 2-2) scored on junior Zaire Barnes’ 73-yard, first-quarter touchdown run and senior Matt Hellen’s 33-yard, third-quarter field goal.
“I just saw open field and made sure no one was going to catch me,” Barnes said of his touchdown.
Linebacker Mario Olivella, a junior, scored all the points for Notre Dame, first via a 15-yard return of a fumble recovery and then a second-quarter safety.
Notre Dame (4-2, 3-1) entered the game in a three-way tie for first in the conference with Benet and Marist. — Steve Reaven
Lake Zurich 24, Lake Forest 6: Junior running back Joey Stutzman rushed for 221 yards on 42 carries and scored two touchdowns as the host Bears stayed undefeated in the North Suburban Conference.
Lake Zurich amassed 313 rushing yards on 58 carries.
“Everything was clicking,” Stutzman said. “The line opened great holes, and I was going to do whatever I had to to help my team win.”
Lake Forest running back Evan Swint had an 85-yard carry for the Scouts’ only score. Swint finished with 96 yards on seven carries for the Scouts (3-3, 1-3).
Ryan McGeever added nine carries for 66 yards and a touchdown for Lake Zurich (5-1, 4-0). — Patrick Z. McGavin
Oak Park-River Forest 34, York 17: The Dukes gave the Huskies all they could handle through two quarters, but OPRF rushed for touchdowns on their next three drives en route to the West Suburban Silver win.
Junior running back Terrance Roundy scored twice to open the second half, and senior quarterback Jeremy Hunt added an insurance touchdown as OPRF (6-0, 3-0) erased a 17-14 halftime deficit.
“That third quarter was a really good quarter for us,” OPRF coach John Hoerster said. “It spoke volumes about our kids’ character and their ability to bounce back.”
York (1-5, 0-3) got rushing scores from senior running back Santiago Vazquez and junior quarterback Charles Pakenas. — Jakub Rudnik
Ridgewood 48, Chicago Christian 25: On homecoming weekend, Ridgewood had plenty to celebrate against Chicago Christian in Metro Suburban Red action on Friday, Sept. 30.
With Ridgewood (4-2, 2-0) trailing 7-0 midway through the first quarter, Rebels senior Alex Rice got the party started for the Rebels with an interception. That led to his 5-yard touchdown run, which tied the game at 7.
The Rebels found the end zone seven times in the first half. Rice, a corner back and running back, and junior wide receiver Marco Vitale accounted for six of the touchdowns. The Rebels’ defense also celebrated plenty, forcing the Knights (2-4, 1-1) into three turnovers over the first 24 minutes.
“After their first touchdown, we made every right read on offense,” Ridgewood coach Don Gelsomino said. “The kids went out there, they executed it (the game plan) great, and we’re pretty proud of ’em.” — Eli Hershkovich
Rolling Meadows 33, Prospect 0: Rolling Meadows quarterback Asher O’Hara ran for 149 yards and passed for 123 yards and a touchdown, and running back Kevin Lacosse added 107 yards rushing and three touchdowns in Mid-Suburban East action.
Rolling Meadows (6-0, 2-0) held Prospect (3-3, 1-1) to 88 yards rushing to clinch a playoff berth. Nick Delporte blocked a punt, recovered the ball and ran it 18 yards for a touchdown to open the scoring in the first quarter. It was his third blocked punt of the season, all leading to touchdowns.
“Our defense played lights-out, and we talked about everybody doing their assignments and playing selfless, because they are an option football team,” Delporte said. — Bob Narang
