Vernon Hills rolls behind McNamara (7 TDs)
By the time North Chicago delivered its second offensive snap of the game, Conner McNamara and Vernon Hills were firmly in front with no looking back.
The Cougars (2-1) raced to a quick 21-0 lead behind the three of the junior quarterback's seven scores and eased over the Warhawks 64-28 in the teams' North Suburban Prairie Division opener at Rust-Oleum Field.
“He started that last week and hopefully this continues,” Vernon Hills coach Bill Bellecomo said of McNamara. “He's making really good decisions. He's running the ball nice and throwing the ball nice. That's nice to have at the quarterback position.”
On the second play from scrimmage, McNamara delivered a 39-yard vaunt to paydirt for a quick Cougars edge.
A Jeffery Echeverria interception on North Chicago's first offensive down set up a 66-yard drive highlighted by a pair of first down connections between McNamara and Kiwanne Durant to set up the signal-caller with a 3-yard burst into the end zone.
Before the Warhawks (1-2) could blink, Vernon Hills recovered an onside kick and drove 35 yards with a 1-yard plunge from McNamara to put an early stamp on the game.
“That's two games in a row we've got out to a quick start,” said McNamara. “Hopefully, it becomes a regular thing because it's nice. On offense, we've got to keep rolling and doing what we were doing.”
North Chicago made it a two-score game twice in the second quarter behind a pair of dazzling runs from its quarterback, Jamero Shelton, but its defense never found an answer for McNamara and the Vernon Hills offense.
After landing a 32-yard touchdown strike with Durant on Vernon Hills' fourth drive, McNamara added touchdown runs of two and 13 to close the half with a 43-14 lead.
Things didn't get much better in the second half for the Warhawks as a fumbled return on the opening kick led to McNamara's final score from one yard out to ultimately seal the game.
Robby Nardini and Sam Brandl closed the scoring for Vernon Hills with a touchdown run apiece in the second half, while Joshua Turner tacked on a pair of scores for the visiting Warhawks as the clock wound down.
Overall, McNamara hit 6 of 15 passing for 106 yards and the score with six touchdowns on 17 carries for 61 yards. Durant caught four of the balls for 82 yards and the scoring grab.
“Our offense is fast,” Durant said. “We're constantly passing the ball and running the ball. We have great receivers and great blockers. We're executing every drive. It was good.”
Still, although the home team tallied a combined 269 yards and took care of business on the scoreboard, Vernon Hills' skipper sees room for improvement as his squad goes into next week's league tilt with Antioch.
“I think we looked sloppy tonight at times,” Bellecomo added. “I don't think we played our best game offensively. We kind of took a step back this week, I thought, but the night had a little to do with it. It's windy. It's cold. We've got to fix those things.”
For North Chicago, which hosts Grant next Friday, Shelton totaled 94 yards on 12 carries and 42 yards passing on a four of 10 night including two interceptions while Isaiah Washington aided the rushing tally with 84 yards on six touches.