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First win comes impressively for Warren

There's still plenty of work ahead, but Warren is finally trending in the right direction.

The Blue Devils resurrected their playoff hopes after a convincing 46-10 victory over visiting Lake Forest in North Suburban action on Friday night in Gurnee.

"We started the season a little rough, but I think we found our rhythm again," said senior tailback Mel Pettis of his comrades, who notched their first win to move to 1-3 overall and 1-1 in the NSC. "We had a hard practice this week and came out fast and didn't let up. Thanks to the offensive line. They did awesome and our defense really stepped up and made some big plays."

The fast start Pettis referred to had a lot to do with, well, him.

He capped off a sterling 6-play, 42-yard opening drive by plunging 1 yard into the end zone for a 7-0 Devils lead just 2:04 into the game.

Then, after Jack Brush's 22-yard field goal early in the second cut the deficit to 7-3, Pettis went wild again in taking the ensuing kickoff 75 yards for a score and 14-3 advantage.

"For a smaller guy, he's so fast and strong and very shifty," said Warren coach Mark McNulty. "He just showed tonight what can happen when he gets loose."

Senior kicker Brandon Hergenreder's 18-yard field goal then put the hosts ahead 17-3 with 3:20 left in the half.

Lake Forest (2-2, 0-2) came out blazing to open the third, marching 80 yards in 8 eight plays. Junior running back Bryan Ooms raced in from 7 yards and all of a sudden it was 17-10.

But Pettis and the offense immediately silenced the Lake Forest faithful when he dashed in from 28 yards just about a minute later and Warren was back in control at 24-10.

Pettis finished with 22 carries for 225 yards while accounting for 344 total yards of offense on the evening.

"We suffered for the first three weeks, with a couple of tough losses," added McNulty. "We deserve this tonight. We just never got down (after the 0-3 start) and the guys stuck together"

Warren had a terrific complement to Pettis with senior running back Rashad Walker, who bulldozed his way to 105 yards on 16 carries. He scored two fourth quarter touchdowns on runs of 1 and 6 yards. Sandwiched in between was an 8-yard scoring strike from senior quarterback Luke Schmitt to junior wideout Micah Jones.

A safety in the closing seconds accounted for the final score.

Meanwhile, the Devils defense delivered smashing hits all night long and produced several key fourth down stops.

Junior linebacker Theodor Lowe and junior safety Nehemiah Clemmons each picked off a pass, while senior defensive back Jayson Dorsey recovered a fourth quarter fumble.

Warren dominated in offensive yards out gaining the Scouts 487-276.

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