Downers South spikes South Elgin

Playing on their new field turf for the first time, Downers Grove South and Josh Williams took full advantage.

With 38 carries for 363 yards, the senior running back helped lead his team to a 28-7 nonconference win over South Elgin in their season opener on Friday.

“My linemen, they have some great size,” Williams said. “They did great tonight. I really love those guys.”

The game's turning point came early as South Elgin threatened to score on its first two possessions, but costly turnovers left the Storm off the scoreboard.

On the first possession of the game, the Storm came within 6 yards of scoring before Josh Belt gave the Mustangs the ball by stripping South Elgin quarterback Zach Gross. A 94-yard drive later, Downers Grove South was on the scoreboard on a 1-yard run from Williams.

“We just had a couple bad breaks,” said South Elgin coach Dale Schabert. “We threaten to score, and then they go down and score and that changed things early.”

That was the first of 3 touchdowns for Williams as he scored a go-ahead touchdown from 3 yards out for a 14-7 halftime lead, and he gave the Mustangs a 21-7 lead early in the fourth quarter.

On the other side, Storm senior running back Adolfo Pacheco had a solid night with 17 carries for 187 yards.

“Pacheco ran his tail off, and our linemen opened some holes for him,” Schabert said. “Our defense was facing one of the top three running backs in the state, and I think Adolfo's up there as well. I think you saw two great tailbacks tonight.”

Gross had South Elgin's lone touchdown on a 6-yard run to tie the game four minutes into the second quarter.

Mustangs' quarterback AJ Simoncelli found Scott Daly for a 10-yard touchdown pass for the final sore of the game.

“We felt great,” Williams said. “We felt like we were prepared, and we felt like we were going to win coming in.”

“It wasn't a perfect game, but it's a good start,” said Downers Grove South coach John Belskis. “They're kids and they're learning, and it's good to be 1-0.”