Calmly, Vernon Hills gets past Grayslake Central

If Vernon Hills had any first-game jitters, they quickly fell by the wayside.

Connor McNamara picked up where he left off one year ago, with a five-score night through the air and ground, to key a season-opening 41-14 nonconference win over Grayslake Central at Rust-Oleum Field.

"We needed a couple of guys to step up tonight," said Cougars coach Bill Bellecomo. "We were a little banged up and we needed guys to make plays. Connor had some great drives when we needed him to. That's great senior leadership. That's what we're counting on from him this year. When we needed him to step up, he put together two drives that were outstanding."

McNamara completed 20 of 44 passing for 294 yards and four touchdowns with one interception, also adding 33 on the ground and one rushing score to pace the Cougars (1-0, 0-0).

Timing and nerves were present early for the signal-caller.

However, after tossing an end-zone interception to Rams linebacker Richard Rovrouzov on the Vernon Hills' second offensive drive, McNamara and the Cougar offense caught fire.

Thanks to a catch interference penalty on the following Rams punt, Vernon Hills found the scoreboard quickly over two McNamara completions covering 40 yards. The latter a 25-yard screen, pick and roll to Andres Salazar produced the game's first points.

The Cougar defense responded one play into the next series with a diving pick from Jeffrey Rosenstock. McNamara capped a quick drive with a 7-yard scoring toss into the palms of Chris Mariella.

"Things didn't start as I envisioned them, but it was nice to get rolling," McNamara said. "It felt really good. We were hitting our routes at the right time. Our wideouts were making great plays and our o-line gave me all the time I needed tonight and more. It was a good team win."

Grayslake Central found themselves in Cougar territory on two occasions in the second quarter only to find themselves turn the ball over on downs.

Vernon Hills, on the other hand, rode the arm and legs of McNamara on a 71-yard drive to paydirt when the signal-caller burst into the end-zone with a 12-yard scamper to make it 20-0 at the half following the PAT.

The Rams showed fire on the opening drive of the second half, riding a pair of strong runs from Mikey Andrews and a pass interference penalty to set up a 31-yard touchdown strike from Luke Shepherd to Noah Comerford to make it a two-score game.

It would be short lived. McNamara moved the chains four times on five passes, then on a fourth and five lobbed a throw to a diving Kyle Hull in the far right corner of the end-zone to regain the momentum.

A defensive stand put Vernon Hills back in business to see Salazar reel in a 35-yard grab, then take an end-around 11 yards to the house on the following play to put the proverbial icing on the cake for the home team in its 2015 debut.

"I couldn't have done it without the line and receivers blocking down the field," said Salazar, who made 11 grabs for 123 yards and a touchdown with 25 yards and a score rushing.

Grayslake Central capped its night with a second scoring strike from Shepherd to Comerford, a 50-yarder, but enough damage was done.

Shepherd finished with 121 yards on a 6-of-14 night with a pick and the two scores to Comerford, who reeled in four catches for 94 yards. Mikey Andrews paced the visitors on the ground with 75 yards on 15 carries.

For Vernon Hills, Mariella made six catches for 81 yards with his score whereas Hull combined for 45 yards of total offense with two scores.

The Cougars host Larkin next Friday whereas the Rams (0-1, 0-0) return to the road at Prairie Ridge.