Prospect shows its offensive arsenal
Prospect knew it could not be solely the Devin O’Hara show offensively.
Which the Knights did show even though the senior quarterback accounted for 5 touchdowns in their 42-21 Mid-Suburban League football crossover victory over visiting Conant on Friday night at George Gattas Stadium.
Stevan Isteefanos, Jack Tuttle and Nikko Gountanis also were big contributors to the 477 total yards of offense by the Knights (2-0).
“There are a lot of threats on this team,” Isteefanos said after he rushed for 114 yards on 17 carries.
“We have a very versatile offense with a bunch of skill players,” said senior two-way lineman Mike Houghton after Prospect ran for 431 yards on 65 carries.
O’Hara led the way by rushing for 164 yards and 4 touchdowns on 28 carries and throwing a 5-yard scoring pass to Shola George for a 35-14 lead with 7:14 to play. But the Knights nearly had four players finish with 100 yards of total offense with Isteefanos, Tuttle (12 carries, 99 yards) and Gountanis (98 yards rushing and receiving).
“Devin had a great game last week and we knew people would be geared to stop him,” said Prospect coach Mike Sebestyen of O’Hara’s 7 touchdowns in the opener against Glenbrook South. “The kids understand it would require them to step forward and we had to prove we’re more than just the fighting O’Haras.
“A lot of it goes to the simple fact the front five and the kids on the edge did a good job blocking tonight.”
Houghton, Pat Costello, Jackson Wrede, Kevin Kern and Zach Smith led scoring drives of 85, 63 and 69 yards which O’Hara finished with scoring runs of 10, 1 and 3 yards to give the Knights a 21-7 lead 2:22 before halftime.
And Gountanis, Eric Garmoe, Andrew Hajek, Joe Gleason, Max Driscoll and Jon Slupski did their part at the receiver spots to make sure the openings for extra yardage were there.
“My job was easy because the line does a great job,” said Isteefanos, who missed most of the past two seasons with shoulder injuries. “You could put anybody back there and they would do great.”
Conant (1-1) tied it at 7-7 on a 9-yard touchdown pass from Danny Modelski (17-for-26, 241 yards) to Mike Kos. But Prospect answered with the next three scores and Houghton’s pressure led to sophomore Brady Eckert’s 18-yard interception return for a 28-7 lead 3:26 after halftime.
“They took it to us pretty good and they have a nice football team,” said Conant coach Bill Modelski. “Our response was not what it needed to be at times.”
Danny Modelski’s touchdown passes of 66 yards to Tim Manczko (8 catches, 124 yards) and 38 yards to Elias Gardener got Conant within 14 points twice. But scoring drives consuming 5:39 and 4:24 kept Prospect out of serious danger.
“Tonight was all about seeing how much better we could get from Week 1 to Week 2,” Houghton said of the offensive line. “Obviously we had some setbacks but we played through them and came off the ball hard.”