Another big night for Fish, Grayslake North
It was another great first half for host Grayslake North on Friday night when the Knights met Jacobs in a Fox Valley Conference crossover football game.
And once again it was senior quarterback AJ Fish doing most of the damage offensively for Grayslake North as he rushed for 4 touchdowns and threw for 2 TDs, helping the Knights roll past the Golden Eagles 56-21 after falling behind 7-0 early on.
Jacobs (2-1) looked like it might be the team rolling to a lopsided victory as it got a 47-yard run by Jake Gierlak on the first play from scrimmage to take the ball down to the Grayslake North 28-yard-line.
Five plays later, Jacobs quarterback Bret Mooney (162 yards passing) faked a handoff, rolled left, and hit Hunter Williams for a 15-yard TD play as Williams made a nice move at the 5-yard-line before going in for the score and a 7-0 lead just 2:18 into the contest.
But that was about all the momentum the Golden Eagles could muster the rest of the game as the Knights (3-0) answered with a 16-yard TD run by sophomore Titus Booker and the first of 8 extra points by Bernard Drewno, tying the score at 7-7 just 2:05 later.
Like the three other opponents Grayslake North has faced, the Jacobs defense had no answer for Fish (153 yards on 19 carries).
On the Knights’ next drive, Fish (19-for-28, 323 yards passing) was right on the money with his 14-yard TD pass to Charlie Pine to make the score 21-7 with 33.4 seconds left in the opening quarter.
Grayslake North kept the pressure on Jacobs in the second quarter as Fish broke numerous tackles en route to the end zone on a 29-yard TD run 55 seconds into the second quarter.
The next TD featured a short pass to Anthony Diggs, who caught the pass before breaking free down the left sideline for a 60-yard scoring play and a 35-7 lead with still 9:04 left in the first half.
Then with 4:11 left in the half, Fish ran left and cut right across the field for another 29-yard TD run and a commanding 42-7 lead.
The Golden Eagles did cut the gap to 42-14 at the intermission as Steven Varela (105 yards on 14 attempts) scored on a 5-yard run with 1:21 left in the period.
“Fish did a great job, and their kids did a great job,” said Jacobs coach Bill Mitz. “We need to learn how to tackle, and the guys aren’t wrapping up and making tackles, but he (Fish) is a good athlete.”
In the third quarter, North scored again as Fish hit Diggs with an 8-yard TD pass to give him exactly 300 yards passing at that point late in the third quarter.
A blocked punt led to the Knights’ final TD as Fish scored on a 1-yard run for a 56-14 lead with 1:35 left in the third quarter. The remainder of the game was played with a running clock.
“They (Jacobs) are a great team, but we just played great and did what we had to do,” said Fish. “The coaches made great play calls and everyone around me played great. I just took what the defense gave me.”
Jacobs got a 12-yard TD pass from Mooney to Varela late in the fourth quarter to account for the final score.
“I’m really proud of the way our kids responded and we challenged them all week,” said Grayslake North coach Steve Wood, whose team hosts Johnsburg in their homecoming game next Friday. “Fish is just amazing and he is so explosive. He is as quick laterally as any kid I’ve ever coached.”