Delightful outcome for Hardy, Lakes

Her brother's four-syllable first name was too difficult to pronounce, so DeAngelo became "D'lo."

"I couldn't say DeAngelo when I was little," Lakes junior Domenique Hardy said with a laugh of her brother, fellow Lakes junior D'lo Hardy. "(D'lo) is his nickname forever now."

Friday night, D'lo Hardy was delightful - or maybe 'd'lightful' - as Lakes won its home opener by holding off Highland Park 28-20 in a nonconference game in Lake Villa.

Hardy, a wide receiver/safety and returning playmaker for the Eagles, scored a pair of highlight-reel touchdowns and also broke up a pass on the goal line, as Lakes improved to 2-0 under first-year head coach Jordan Eder.

"It was huge," Hardy said of the win after the Eagles overcame a one-touchdown deficit three times in the opening half. "We've been practicing hard all summer - every day, all day."

Hardy had a 94-yard kickoff return for touchdown in a 21-point second quarter for Lakes. He then electrified the home crowd again when he caught a bubble screen from Jake Johnson (6-of-9 passing, 168 yards, 3 TDs) and turned it into an 81-yard touchdown catch with four minutes left in the fourth quarter. Hardy slithered away from a tackle near the line of scrimmage, pumped his legs and accelerated, pulling away from defenders in pursuit of him.

"I saw open room and I took it," Hardy said.

"Every time D'lo gets the ball, he's a threat to take it all the way," said Eagles running back Ethan Greenfield, who rushed for 107 yards on 14 carries and caught a 9-yard TD pass. "That's why I love having him on our team."

Lakes started ominously, getting called for offsides on the opening kickoff, giving up a 47-yard run to running back Ryan Brinks on the first play from scrimmage and allowing a 1-yard TD run by Tom Motzko to cap a four-play drive with just two minutes gone. Hardy busted up a pass on the goal before Highland Park (0-2) missed a 27-yard field goal try to deny the Giants on their second series.

Lakes responded with a 14-play drive, which included fourth-and-1 pickups by Greenfield and Johnson. The Eagles pulled even on Johnson's 9-yard swing pass to Greenfield with 8:02 left in the second quarter, starting a barrage of points.

Giants quarterback John Sakos threw a 68-yard TD pass to Giancarlo Volpentesta on the first play following the ensuing kickoff. It was advantage Highland Park on the play, as the Eagles had only 10 players on the field.

"They came down early and were pounding the ball, which we thought they might," Eder said. "We made adjustments to that."

Hardy then showed off his playmaking skills on special teams, taking the ensuing kickoff at the 6 and taking it the distance o even the score once more. That made it 3 touchdowns in 31 seconds.

"He's explosive," Eder said. "He's one of the best athletes in the county."

"On the kickoff, we knew they'd kick it to the right," said Greenfield, who was positioned deep along with Hardy. "He's like, 'Hey, man, can I get this one?' I said, 'If you get it, you better score.' Props to him for just being a playmaker."

Hardy's return knotted the score at 14-14, but the tie didn't last long. Motzko's 5-yard touchdown run put Highland Park back up 20-14. The Giants, however, missed the PAT kick.

Lakes answered again on its next possession and needed only 3 plays, as Johnson hit senior wide receiver Parker Canning on a slant. Canning raced 51 yards into the end zone, and when Ryan Carr drilled his third PAT, the home team had a 21-20 lead with 4:54 left before halftime.

The slimmest of margins was enough for Lakes' defense, which didn't allow another point. Brinks had 101 rushing yards at halftime but finished with 116 on 15 carries. Dylan DeAngelo's sack and pass breakup on fourth down helped Lakes thwart Highland Park's offense on one series. Quinn McQuade broke up a long pass downfield, just a few plays before Hardy's long TD reception helped give the Eagles breathing room.

Greenfield's 48-yard run with less than two minutes left helped Lakes seal it and overcome 120 yards in penalties.

"We just came out playing our game," Hardy said of any halftime adjustments made by Lakes' defense. "Coach told us to go out there and go harder and harder every play, so that's what we did."