Fullback spot suits Antioch's Taylor

At 6 feet 1 and 195 pounds, strongly built Antioch senior Alan Taylor looks "Taylor-made," so to speak, to play fullback.

And so he is, after opening the season at quarterback.

"It's something we thought about doing during the preseason," Sequoits coach Brian Glashagel said last Friday night after Taylor rushed for 132 yards and 2 touchdowns on 18 carries in a 42-40 win over host Vernon Hills.

With junior Dan Meade unavailable Opening Night, Taylor ran Antioch's option offense from under center. Nick Dorosan started at fullback and rushed for 117 yards in a loss to Kenosha Tremper.

Meade returned the following week against Glenbard South. Taylor then switched to fullback. He had started at quarterback as a sophomore on varsity, before playing running back last season with then-senior Zach Andre at QB. Taylor wound up earning all-conference honors.

Taylor scored the first of six Antioch touchdowns against Vernon Hills, busting through the middle and into the end zone from 17 yards out to cap a nine-play, 54-yard drive on the visitors' first series of the game. Then on the Sequoits' first snap from scrimmage in the second half, Taylor broke free and scored on a 65-yard run.

"He's a phenomenal athlete," Glashagel said. "You got to get your athletes the ball."

Both teams showed off playmakers. Antioch junior Griffin Hill scored 3 TDs, including one on a kickoff. He rushed 17 times for 139 yards.

Vernon Hills quarterback Connor McNamara completed 37 of 49 passes for 354 yards and 6 TDs. Kiwanne Durant and Kyle Hull each caught 2 touchdown passes for the Cougars, while Robby Nardini accounted for 74 total rushing and receiving yards, and caught a TD pass.

"If anything, you saw who the athletes were," Glashagel said, "on both sides."

Special (teams) night: Antioch had plenty of special-teams highlights in its 42-40 win over Vernon Hills. Among them were Griffin Hill's 81-yard kickoff return for touchdown late in the opening half, Dan Meade's 6-for-6 effort on PAT kicks and strong-legged Ben Gutke's 5 touchback kicks.

"What I hope was not lost in all of this was I thought special teams were a slight edge for us," coach Brian Glashagel said.

While recapping the game with his players and coaches on Vernon Hills' field, Glashagel brought up Gutke's athletic play on a punt attempt with about eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, with the Sequoits leading only 35-26. On fourth-and-3 from the Antioch 27, Gutke scooped up a low snap and, while under pressure from pursuing Vernon Hills players, got off a running, 30-yard punt.

"Just catching that and getting rid of it (was impressive)," Glashagel said of the sophomore. "He's a good athlete. That's why he's up on varsity."

The 6-foot, 215-pound Gutke also plays defensive line and linebacker.

"He's a good player," Glashagel said. "We didn't bring him up to varsity just to kick. He contributes on all special teams and on defense."

Clark out: Vernon Hills is expected to be without senior running back/linebacker Richard Clark for another couple of weeks due to a sprained MCL, coach Bill Bellecomo said.

The speedy Clark, who also long snaps, suffered the knee injury in Week 3. He did not play against Antioch last Friday night.

Girl power: It's become less rare over the years to see a high-school football team employ a female place-kicker, usually a soccer player. At Vernon Hills, the Cougars have two.

Kaitlin Grammins and Maddi Guillaume wear jersey Nos. 8 and 9, respectively, for the Cougars. Grammins attempted Vernon Hills' first PAT kick against Antioch last Friday.