West Aurora wins 14th straight over East Aurora
DaQuan Cross needed only 15 seconds to begin a historic West Aurora football victory Friday night.
West Aurora and archrival East Aurora are Illinois' prep version of the Rose Bowl — the granddaddy of them all.
But in the 121 years the schools have competed, West Aurora never scored as many points as it did at East Aurora.
Cross' 87 yard kickoff return to start the game was only an appetizer as the Blackhawks scored on all five second-half possessions to rout the Tomcats 62-14.
The junior wingback had 225 all-purpose yards on a mere 11 touches as Cross added a game-high 144 yards rushing on 10 carries.
Backfield mate Drake Spears augmented Cross with 141 yards, including runs of 52 and 24 yards, as West Aurora pummeled its archrival on the ground with 492 yards rushing.
“It's neat to see the kids learn the (Wing-T) offense,” West Aurora coach Nate Eimer said after the Blackhawks improved to 3-5, 2-4 with the Upstate Eight Conference Valley victory over the winless Tomcats.
“The line has been blocking,” said Cross. “I just have to thank them. They started off slow with all the penalties.”
The Blackhawks had more than 120 yards in incurred penalties in the opening half, but the team still managed to take a 27-6 into halftime.
“We got lazy,” Eimer said of the infractions.
T.J. Jackson had the first of two scores from 26 yards out on the Blackhawks' first possession, and DaVion Cross torched the Tomcats with a third first-quarter score with a 19-yard run.
Spears burst free from 52 yards away following a pair of extended East Aurora drives late in the first half.
East Aurora closed to within two scores after scoring early in the third quarter, but West Aurora kick returner Sean King had another 56-run after the Tomcats' touchdown and 2-point conversion.
The Tomcats (0-8, 0-6) would never score again as West Aurora hit their rivals for five unanswered five touchdowns to extend their streak of wins in the peerless series to 14 in a row.
“Me and DeQuan feed off each other,” said Spears, who also had an interception on defense. “If he does something big, then I feel like I have to something. It's all one big ball of something.”
Quarterback Jonathan Doyle called his own number from 2 yards out for the Blackhawks' seventh touchdown.
Chandler Behrens and Dominic King then scored their first career touchdowns to close out the one-sided game in the fourth quarter.
Immanuel Palmer had 101 yards rushing to lead the Tomcats.
“You have to stay focused and know that every play is an important play be it offense, defense or special teams,” East Aurora coach Kurt Becker said. “That's part of our learning process.”