Schaumburg looking forward to Round 2

Having done the expected, Schaumburg would now like to accomplish the extraordinary.

The Saxons varsity football team will get its chance, too. Now that they’ve dispatched Chicago Schurz 49-3 in Friday’s playoff opener at home, the No. 2 seed in Class 7A will get to take on St. Patrick next weekend. The No. 10 Shamrocks surprised No. 7 Geneva and earned a home game in the process.

But based on its most recent performances, make no mistake, Schaumburg (9-1) will be ready.

“Do the little things consistently,” safety Ryan Woloszyk said of one of the keys to the team’s success following his own 2-interception game.

“Take care of the football,” said coach Mark Stilling after his Saxons coughed up two fumbles that thwarted drives.

Fortunately, the two miscues didn’t hurt much. The Saxons scored four of the five times they had the ball in the first half, plowing over the outmanned Bulldogs (6-3) on the speedy legs of quarterback Stacy Smith and tailback Justice Macneal-Young, who combined for 288 yards rushing and 4 touchdowns between them. They both averaged more than 10 yards per carry as they darted and danced through the Bulldogs defense.

Luke Gruszka, Mike Jones, Alex Kiszkowski and impressive freshman Dakari Ferguson also got to slash away while contributing to Schaumburg’s 412 yards rushing.

Smith, seeming trapped at times, used his built-in zip to reverse fields and scampered to scores of 23 and 19 yards in the first half. Macneal-Young powered his way up the middle most of the time, scoring on runs of 4 and 24 yards. Ferguson threw in a curtain-call 31-yard scoring run, and Jones’ sole carry was a 15-yard TD in the second half. Smith also hit Ricky Loureiro with a short pass that the 5-foot-10 senior wide receiver turned into an 11-yard TD with a nice run.

So what does Schaumburg have to do to keep it up?

“Pay attention to detail,” said Stilling. “Tackle better and finish.”

The results were impressive, as Connor Lapinski, Noah Miller, Woloszyk and the Saxons defense suffocated Schurz by holding them to minus-30 yards total offense.

It won’t be that easy against St. Patrick.

“It’s going to get harder each week,” Woloszyk said of making a run in the playoffs.

For Stilling, it’s going to mean going back to basics.

“Football 101,” he noted of the focus.

Or 412 — as in yards rushing.