Streamwood moves to 5-0

Streamwood defensive back Deji Giwa had not recorded an interception all season.

Never forced a fumble either.

The junior managed to check both off his list during a span in which Streamwood scored 21 points in 44 seconds.

The scoring spree guided the Sabres to a 49-0 homecoming victory over East Aurora (0-5, 0-3) in an Upstate Eight Conference River Division game at Millennium Field Friday night.

“It was crazy,” Giwa said. “The momentum just kept building and we kept going from there.”

Streamwood continued its momentum in the standings, moving to 5-0 for the first time since 1997 and the third time in school history.

The Sabres (5-0, 3-0) went up 28-0 on a Alex Crocker 1-yard touchdown run with 2:05 left in the first half. Giwa nailed Tomcats’ returner Jesse Arrendonde on the ensuing kickoff forcing him to fumble. Kyle Strong recovered the fumble to set Streamwood up with a first-and-10 on the East Aurora 36.

Quarterback Dalton Lundeen scrambled in a play later to extend Streamwood’s lead to 35-0 with 1:44 left in the half.

Giwa then picked off Tomcats’ quarterback Diego Huitron on the next play from scrimmage to set up a first-and-10 on the Tomcats’ 15-yard line. Alex Morrow punched in his third score of the day on a 15-yard plow through the defense to extend the lead to 42-0 before halftime.

“Normally we give up really big plays at the beginning of the game, and his week we didn’t do that,” Tomcats’ coach Bill Bryant said. “I thought our kids defensively played pretty well today.”

Where East Aurora struggled was holding onto the ball. Steamwood forced 5 turnovers in the game, with 4 fumbles and an interception. The final nail came after East Aurora fumbled a punt return in the second half, which turned a possession into a first-and-goal from the 3-yard line for Streamwood.

Juan Renteria scored on the next play to extend the lead to 49-0.

“Special teams has been a big part of our success,” Sabres’ coach Cal Cummins said. “Tonight they played a bigger role.” Morrow scored on runs of 1 and 5 yards in the first quarter to put Streamwood up 14-0. Lundeen found Bryan Holder on a 30-yard bomb extending the lead to 21-0 to kick off the Sabres’ 28-point second quarter.

Streamwood’s defense held the Tomcats to 34 total yards in the first half, while East Aurora was whistled for 35 penalty yards.