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Grayslake Central proves its point at Fenton

Grayslake Central’s seniors came into their season opener at Fenton with something to prove following a disappointing 2-7 record last season.

The evidence was on display.

Grayslake Central allowed the Bison minus-2 yards rushing in the first half on the way to a 29-8 win in nonconference play. The game was postponed Friday night due to inclement weather.

Rams quarterback Alex Lennartz, who is coming back from a knee injury sustained in the middle of last season, scored 2 touchdowns and threw for 1 to lead the Rams in Bensenville. Lennartz finished 8-for-19 passing for 149 yards.

“Going through all the things we did last night with the postponing of the game, I think the team handled that adversity well,” said Rams coach Ben Ault. “Alex did a nice job. He did the things we expect him to do. We’d love to be a little bit more balanced — that way we don’t get in a position where if they take a player away, then we are stuck.”

The Rams’ solid defense didn’t give the Bison much room to work with.

“We pride ourselves on our defense,” Ault said. “We got back to pursuing and tackling, and that’s what we saw today.”

The Rams (1-0) opened the scoring in the second quarter when Lennartz broke through the Bison defense for a 1-yard sneak.

Less than two minutes later he sent a 36-yard strike to Matt Loeffl, who was left alone deep in the end zone. The Rams took a 14-0 lead into the half.

“We worked hard all week in practice,” Lennartz said. “We were setting it up for that, calling a couple of run plays. I had faith in (Matt) Loeffl to get the separation and the touchdown.”

Things fell apart for the Bison in the second half. Kacey Adams broke through the Fenton defense on a reverse for 50 yards and a touchdown.

A bad snap on the PAT attempt forced kicker Kevin Dunk to loft a pass into the end zone, where Cam Schwartz caught the ball just inside the end zone corner. Lennartz finished the Rams’ scoring with a 15-yard run to seal the win.

The Bison (0-1) defense, despite having nine starters returning from last year’s team, couldn’t solve the Rams’ running game or Lennartz’s passing attack. Meanwhile, junior quarterback Willie Wasserman couldn’t move the Bison offense.

“In the first half our defense played very well,” said Fenton coach Mark Kos. “(Grayslake Central) had two big plays that were just mental breakdowns by our team. We have to realize that we have to play for the length of the play, whistle to whistle. I’m confident we’ll get better.”

Fenton’s Kyle McPherson, who entered the game in the fourth quarter, rushed for 105 yards on 6 carries.

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