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Healthy playoff start for James, Lakes

A new season - playoff football - delivered a healthy and revitalized Izayah James.

"I feel like a whole brand-new person," said Lakes' junior running back, whose injured hip limited him to only special-teams duties last week after he missed the Eagles' Week 8 showdown against Antioch. "I was hungry to get in again."

On the field, Lakes' domination was nothing new. It was the same-ol' Eagles, as they started the Class 6A state playoffs like they ended the regular season. Led by James' 143 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns on 24 carries, host Lakes led from start to finish in a 38-14 win over No. 14 Prairie Ridge on a chilly Friday night.

Jordan Mercure also had a big game. The junior quarterback rushed for a season-high 129 yards and a TD on 11 carries and passed for 94 yards, as No. 3 Lakes improved to 9-1 and earned a second-round game against the winner of tonight's contest between No. 11 Grayslake North and No. 6 St. Francis.

"We were watching film on (Prairie Ridge) against Crete-Monee (Week 9), and (Crete-Monee's) quarterback was running all over the place," Mercure said. "So I knew we were going to have a good opportunity to run on them."

Lakes rushed for 324 yards as the all-senior unit of Ryan Mullen, Steven McVicker, Chris Diaguila, Austin Summers and Zachary Lahr opened up big holes all night and allowed Mercure plenty of time to maneuver in the pocket.

"(Coach) knew it was going to be on us," Diaguila said. "Every play was going to be right up the gut. We knew Coach had trust in us. We controlled the ball very well."

Prairie Ridge (6-4) moved the ball well at times too. The Wolves' option attack manufactured 11- and 12-play drives on its first two series of the game, but stalled both times. Lakes took the lead on Cody Brumm's 33-yard field goal in the first quarter and went up 10-0 with 3:44 left before halftime when Jake Balliu scored on an inside handoff on fourth-and-goal from the 4.

Prairie Ridge answered right back, needing only four plays to go 68 yards. Fullback Nathan Griffin (11 carries, 81 yards) busted off a 54-yard run to the Lakes 5 and then carried the ball into the end zone on the next play.

Back came Lakes. Starting at their own 20, the Eagles got down to the Wolves 2 with 3.3 seconds on the clock and sent out Brumm for a chip-shot field goal. But Prairie Ridge called timeout. When play resumed, Eagles coach Luke Mertens sent his offense back out, and James scored with no time on the clock to make it 17-7 at the break.

"Just playing chess there," Mertens said. "Great way to end the half and then get the ball to start the second half."

Lakes put together a 10-play, 80-yard drive to start the second half, with James capping it with another 2-yard TD run. James finished the Eagles' next series with a touchdown run of 3 yards, extending the lead to 31-7.

"He, our offensive line and Jordan did as good as you could have asked those guys to do of controlling the ball," Mertens said.

Mercure's score from 1 yard out early in the fourth hiked the home team's lead to 38-7. Wolves QB Brett Covalt (14 carries, 101 yards) scored on a 22-run yard against Lakes' backups late in the game.

Mertens was thrilled with his team's defensive effort, which include a pair of tackles for loss by Balliu, a sack by Mullen and Brad Dethloff's fumble recovery and tackle for loss.

"(Prairie Ridge's) offense is about as good as we've faced all year," Mertens said. "If you give these guys a seam, they're going to take it, and they're gone."

Images: Lakes vs. Prairie Ridge football

  Lakes running back Izayah James is pulled down by Prairie Ridge defender Nicholas Greenberg on Friday in Lake Villa. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
  Lakes defensive back Ethan Sage pulls down Prairie Ridge running back Zach Gulbransen after he pulls in a pass on Friday in Lake Villa. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
  Lakes quarterback Jordan Mercure passes the ball against Prairie Ridge on Friday in Lake Villa. George LeClaire/gleclaire@dailyherald.com
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