Grayslake North sparkles in victory over Grayslake C.
Titus Booker held aloft the crosstown rivalry trophy decorated with a shiny football atop of it and ran toward the visiting side bleachers.
"Score a touchdown with it, Titus!" a teammate yelled, as every Grayslake North player followed the star running back.
There was no need for Booker to score again. He had done enough in one half alone in helping Grayslake North roll to a 61-13 win over Grayslake Central, spoiling the Rams' senior night Friday.
Grayslake North improved to 5-3 and 4-1 in the Fox Valley Fox Division with its fourth win in five games and third straight over its crosstown rival since 2012.
"Overall, I just think our team did a great job," said Booker, who rushed 13 times for 144 yards and 4 touchdowns - he also had 2 TDs called back - before getting the second half off. "We showed a lot of heart. It's a rivalry game so you got to bring it, and that's what we did tonight."
Grayslake Central (0-8, 0-5) brought energy early on too. Ryan Mikes recovered an onside kick at the Grayslake North 39 to start the game, but the Rams moved the ball only 6 yards on four plays.
"Their onside (kick) - I'm not kidding you - we practiced that 35 times this week," Knights coach Steve Wood said. "We knew they were going to do it. They do it every year. Never one time in those 35 did we drop it. Of course, they open up with it and we drop it."
After its four-and-out stop, Grayslake North marched 67 yards on eight plays. Quarterback Merrick Gentile raced in from 17 yards out with the help of an open-field block by receiver Brad Baker. Booker's 28-yard TD run, six plays after a Kevin Meyer interception, extended the lead to 14-0.
"They did a good job slowing us down the first quarter," Wood said. "They kept Titus to 5-6 yards at a crack."
But it got ugly for the home team after Booker's 15-yard touchdown run made it 21-0 with 8:27 left before halftime.
A Grayslake Central fumble resulted in Booker's third TD (from 25 yards out). Then on Grayslake Central's next possession, sophomore cornerback Dami Oladunmoye intercepted Rams QB Luke Shepherd and returned the ball 34 yards into the end zone.
"I was in my zone reading," Oladunmoye said. "The ball was overthrown and I just made a quick break on it. The ball came to me, I picked it up and ran. My blockers were blocking and I got to the end zone."
It kept getting worse for Grayslake Central. Gentile's short pass to Baker wound up being a 53-yard scoring play, Booker's fourth TD (from 18 yards out) came after another Rams fumble, and Oladunmoye's 1-yard plunge made it 55-0 in the closing seconds of the half.
That made it 41 points (6 TDs) in the final 8:27.
"I think we came out with high emotions," Grayslake Central wide receiver/kicker Kevin Dunk said. "But I think we had too much emotion and we didn't focus enough. When we lost focus, it was just all downhill from there."
The Rams didn't quit after halftime. Shepherd threw a 29-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell Gilbert on the first series, and Dunk scored on a reverse from 13 yards out in the fourth quarter.
"We lost our sense of character a little bit on the sidelines (in the second quarter)," Grayslake Central coach Jason Schaal said. "We had to address a couple of things, but ultimately we came back the second half. It would have been very easy to not do much. But the seniors gave their very best and, for that, I'm proud."
Grayslake North got a 5-yard TD run from backup QB Joe Geary to finish the scoring.
"We put numbers on the board," said Booker, who ran behind Sean Pearce, Shawn Marquette, Bobby Thomsen, Jack Rutkowski, Payton Campbell and Dan Krajewski. "We stayed focus, and that's why the score was what it was."