Wayne at Northrop
Final Score: 36-25 Northrop
Wayne and Northrop both desperately needed wins this week to stay in reasonable contention to compete for a conference championship. Unfortunately for them, they had to face each other on Friday. But it sure made for a great game.
The Generals, entering last night 0-2, had been blindsided by reality this year after a really fun 2018 season. They really needed to rebound against Northrop, who has also had some difficulties this year, with a blowout loss to Homestead and a very close win over South Side.
Both teams seemed evenly matched early in the game. Both star running backs, KeShaun Fields for Wayne and Jeremiah Green for Northrop, played very well, especially early. Fields ended with 130 yds and 1 TD, averaging 5.9 ypc, and Green had 164 yds and 3 TDs, also averaging 5.9 ypc.
However, as well as both offenses played, the defenses were the ones who came up clutch. Wayne had a late interception that gave them a chance to escape with a win, but Northrop forced a Fields fumble and senior safety Antoine Scott returned it for a game-sealing touchdown. The fumble was a bit questionable though, at least in Wayne head coach Derrick Moore’s mind.
“My heart breaks, we’re going to go back and look at the tape, but I thought he was down. But good recovery by #35 and being aware of where it was on the field.”
Either way, this loss puts Wayne in an 0-3 hole going into week 4. Coach Moore commented on what he thought his team could improve on.
“We got to get off the field on big downs. We were able to pick them off a couple times, but there was a couple third and longs that we gave up and we’ve been working on that all week. We got to quit giving up 36 points if we plan on winning in the SAC.”
Meanwhile, the Bruins improve to 2-1 and are surprisingly in a group alone with Carroll, Homestead, Snider, and Dwenger as the only teams currently above .500 in the SAC. QB Dylan Hoot, who went 7-for-16 for 101 yds, was proud of how his team gutted out this win and explains how they’ll have to keep it going.
“The key to keeping it going is we got to continue that offensive play,” he said. “The offense played tremendous throughout the entirety of the game, we didn’t have the turnovers we had last week. We moved the ball and that opened up the passing and we just had an incredible game all around.”
Next week Wayne will host North Side, and Northrop will have to be prepared for a road test against Carroll and Hoot will have to be on top of his game.
“We’re definitely going to have to keep this offense rolling, the defense is going to have to step up huge too. We’re just going to have to play a really high-energy game throughout and just bring everything we got.”
Bishop Luers at Homestead
Final Score: 51-0 Homestead
The Spartans continue to steamroll their competition, this time clearing the half-century mark against Luers. QB Luke Goode continues to be on top of his game, throwing for 264 yds and 3 TDs. 2 of those touchdowns went to Jake Archbold, who had 4 catches for 95 yds. Griffin Little also had 4 receptions, to go with 77 yds and a touchdown. Homestead will face Bishop Dwenger next week in a battle of SAC titans. The Knights will host Concordia.
Snider at Concordia
Final Score: 38-14 Snider
It was a slow start for the Panthers, but eventually things got rolling and they took care of business. After only one offensive touchdown in the first half, Snider won by 24. Jon Barnes Jr completed half of his 18 passes for 133 yds and 1 TD, but if was RB Lenny Bennett who made the difference with his 136 yds and 2 TDs. He and Kameron Trotter were workhorses on Friday, combining for 26 carries. Alonzo Derrick also had a nice day receiving, as he had 6 receptions for 99 yds and 1 TD. Snider will play South Side at home next, while Concordia, now with a record of 1-2, will play at Luers.
Bishop Dwenger at South Side
Final Score: 54-6 Dwenger
The Saints made sure they didn’t look ahead to their game next week vs Homestead, as they blew out South Side. QB Brenden Lytle continues to play at a high level. He finished the game with 106 yds and 2 TDs as he went 9-for-14 on attempts. The Saints had an amazing statline of 334 rushing yards from 12 different players. Devon Tippmann led the way with 95 yds and 2 TDs as Dwenger cruised to a win. As mentioned above, Dwenger plays Homestead next, while South Side faces Snider.
Carroll at North Side
Final Score: 42-0 Carroll
North Side continued to struggle on Friday, still without a point on the year, while Carroll continues to play to, and even above, expectations. Carroll QB Jeff Becker had 174 yds and 2 TDs through the air, but he continues to impress on the ground with 75 yds and 1 TD off of 10 attempts. WR Layton Mitchell had 58 yds and 2 TDs receiving. Next week, Carroll faces Northrop and North Side will play at Wayne.
