St. Charles East blows past Streamwood
It wasn't necessarily by design but St. Charles East's football team unleashed its 3-headed quarterback at Streamwood Friday night.
The results were plentiful.
Junior starting quarterback Zach Mitchell and senior reserves Aiden Wright and J.T. Ballard accounted for 224 of the team's 417 rushing yards and each signalcaller scored a touchdown during the Saints' 44-12 Upstate Eight Conference River Division triumph over the Sabres (2-3, 1-2) at Norris Stadium in St. Charles.
Mitchell opened the scoring with a 13-yard TD run on the team's first possession and later connected with Nick Candre for a 48-yard TD pass as the Saints (2-3, 2-1) jumped out to a 21-0 first-quarter lead.
The Saints also benefited from a huge special teams play in the first quarter as Sam Grohe scored on a 72-yard punt return.
“It's nice when you get that extra special teams touchdown or any game-changing moment,” said Saints coach Bryce Farquhar.
Midway through the second quarter, the Saints received a scare when Mitchell's right knee appeared to buckle on a tackle following a 5-yard gain. He would not return.
“I kind of got nervous but I'm fine,” said Mitchell.
Mitchell's replacement, Wright, rushed for 55 yards on his first 3 carries, capped by a nifty 23-yard touchdown run that extended the Saints' halftime lead to 28-0.
“I thought Aiden did an excellent job,” said Farquhar. “He has really been our Mr. Utility for us. He has played cornerback. He has played quarterback. Anywhere we need anybody — he'll jump right in.”
Wright, who finished with 105 yards on 12 carries, was well prepared for the opportunity.
“We're definitely getting the reps that we need so if someone goes down, it's next man up,” said Wright, who started the game at cornerback.
“He does a great job of reading (the defense),” Farquhar said of Wright. “He is determined to do a great job.”
Ballard (7 carries, 60 yards) capped the scoring with a 15-yard TD run with 11.3 seconds remaining.
“What the defense gives us, we'll take,” said Farquhar. “They gave us the quarterback tonight. They overplayed our running backs and our quarterbacks took advantage of that.”
Senior tailback Cam Canales (10 carries, 118 yards) joined in the fun with an 8-yard TD run late in the third quarter while Candre added a 38-yard field goal.
Streamwood, which lost junior tailback Malcolm Davis-Wilder to an apparent knee injury on the second play from scrimmage, got on the board when sophomore quarterback Brendon Marton (10 of 27, 141 yards) tossed a 58-yard TD pass to senior receiver Brian “Nino” Adkins (5 catches, 93 yards) with 4:59 left in the third quarter.
Backup quarterback Keagan Cordone added a 4-yard TD run with 1:01 remaining for the Sabres.
“I don't know if it's a first-quarter approach or just an attitude in general,” Sabres coach Don Guindon said of his team's 21-0 first-quarter deficit. “We have to focus more on details. It's more detail-oriented than a first-quarter thing.”