Niles North motors past West

Niles North’s offense stalled early, but the Vikings shifted to a high gear, and Maine West had no answer.

Senior Kris Achim rushed for 107 yards and scored 3 touchdowns to lead host Niles North (4-5, 2-3) to a 48-7 Central Suburban North conference victory at Chuck Pos Stadium in Skokie.

Niles North drove to the Maine West 3-yard line on its opening drive but the Vikings came away empty after a bad snap pushed them back to the 29-yard line.

But Niles North then scored on its next four possessions to take control with a 26-0 halftime lead.

Achim scored on runs of 3 yards, 9 yards, and 2 yards. Junior J.J. Myles recovered two on-side kicks in aiding the Vikings’ first-half explosion.

Senior Ed Zamfir added a 26-yard touchdown reception from senior quarterback Billy Voitik (13-for-18, 151 yards).

“We improved today, and I thought we took it to another level,” said Niles North coach Mark Egofske of the Vikings’ first-half attack. “I thought the talent level certainly favored us.”

Maine West (1-8, 0-5) ran only nine offensive plays in the first half and the Warriors were held with no yards in first half.

“We weren’t able to get anything going,” said Maine West coach Chris Hare. “We stopped them and they would get a big play. Hats off to them.”

Camerin Pascoe, Jovaan Shaw, James Edmond, Eugene Edmond, and Michael Marek controlled the line helping the Vikings rush for 167 yards, including 102 first half rushing yards.

Senior Dan Fricano scored on a 5-yard run to open the second half extending the Vikings margin to 34-0.

But Maine West showed bit of fight by marching 66 yards on a 6- play drive capped by quarterback Matt Swanson’s 5-yard scoring run narrowing the deficit to 34-7. The Warriors were helped on the drive by two critical Niles North penalties.

“We just wanted to fight,” said lineman Dan Cardamone of the Warriors team that gained 64 yards in the second half. “We knew we had it in us, we didn’t want to go down like that.”

John Manicke added 45 yards rushing for Maine West, including an 11-yard burst on the scoring drive.

Cardamone, Matthew Finnander, and Matt Romano gave the Warriors a lift in the second half, after the sluggish first half.

“They came out strong in the second half and really battled,” said Hare. “I can’t give enough credit to our senior leadership.”