Grayslake Central senior quarterback Darryl Overstreet Jr. is in a sweet spot in his storied career, setting a series of all-time school offensive records already this season.
Individual accolades are taking a back seat to team success for now, however, with the unbeaten Rams flying high in the wake of their 28-25 Northern Lake County Conference win at home against rival Grayslake North.
Overstreet rushed for two touchdowns for Grayslake Central (3-0, 1-0), which has started a season with three straight wins for the first time since 2013.
“All the work we’ve put in the last three years is paying off, and it’s such a great feeling, changing how football is seen here at Grayslake Central,” Overstreet said. “We’ve turned from boys to men.”
The Rams showcased not only a solid rushing attack against the Knights (0-3, 0-1) but also improved special teams, which yielded three kickoff returns for touchdowns in the season’s first two weeks.
Then there was the Rams’ pass rush, which made life difficult for Grayslake North quarterback Jacob Donohue. The junior was sacked five times among his 47 drop-backs, and the Rams were within a tick of getting home on multiple other occasions. Senior linebacker Kurt Heerdegen had three of the sacks.
“We knew they were going to throw the ball, so our plan the whole time was to get pressure,” Heerdegen said. “We were sending guys, and our secondary did a great job playing a lot of man-to-man coverage.”
Overstreet set his latest career record early on, becoming Grayslake Central’s all-time leader in total offense. That mark comes a week after his 403 yards passing set a school record, and he also set the standard for most career touchdown passes.
Overstreet didn’t add to the latter total Friday. But his second TD run from 14 yards out gave the Rams a seemingly comfortable 28-11 lead with 7:36 remaining. A 24-yard TD run by junior Jeremiah Poyser, who had 17 carries for 116 yards, preceded Overstreet’s TD after the teams had traded scores in the third quarter.
“The records are cool, but they’re not really my records,” Overstreet said. “They’re me and my teammates’ (records). We all have great chemistry together.”
Grayslake North, on the other hand, has begun the season with three straight losses, albeit to quality opponents like Deerfield and Vernon Hills. Something has cropped up each week to stymie its momentum.
Against Grayslake Central, it was the 14-point run the Knights allowed early in the fourth quarter. They also had a 50-yard TD pass from Donohue to senior Nathan Atwell called back early in the third quarter due to an illegal motion penalty, and the drive ended moments later on a missed field goal.
“They just kept getting first downs, and we couldn’t get off the field,” Grayslake North coach Corey Atwell said. “We had our opportunities early, but we couldn’t capitalize. If we put one of those in, that’s the difference in the game.”
Donohue’s TD passes on the Knights’ final two possessions made things interesting, trimming Grayslake Central’s lead to 28-25 with 1:12 left. Their onside kick was recovered by junior Caleb Hines, however, allowing the Rams to run out the clock.
“We gave it everything we had,” Grayslake North’s Ryan Page said. “We’ve played three really good teams. We’ll learn from our mistakes and take the things we did well and carry it on to next week.”
Steve Reaven is a freelance reporter for the News-Sun.
