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Grayslake North gets possessive, jilts Round Lake

Host Grayslake North capitalized on an early turnover by Round Lake, and the Knights never looked back in their homecoming game Friday night.

After a fumble recovery midway through the opening quarter, Grayslake North got on a roll offensively as they built a 28-0 halftime lead before rolling to a 42-23 Northern Lake County Conference victory over the Panthers.

The Knights (3-2, 2-1) scored on their first play from scrimmage following the fumble recovery as junior quarterback Austin Martineau (11-for-19, 210 yards passing) threw the first of his 4 touchdown passes in the contest.

Martineau hit senior teammate Elliott Hochstein, who made a juke move past two Round Lake defenders en route to a 37-yard TD reception. The first of six extra points by Nicholas Wilson made the score 7-0 with 7:26 left in the first quarter.

The Panthers (2-3, 0-3) did move the ball on offense effectively in spurts throughout the contest. But they could not find the end zone until after Grayslake North had build a commanding 42-0 lead which resulted in a running clock with 2:57 left in the third quarter.

The Knights' second scoring drive went 62 yards capped by a 9-yard TD run by Giananthony Ocampo (43 yards on 7 carries) with 11:20 remaining in the first half.

Then, after Round Lake turned the ball over on downs after sustaining a second straight solid drive, Grayslake North took over at midfield. Four plays later, Martineau hit senior Brett Lila with a screen pass as Lila slipped past numerous Panthers defenders on his way to a 33-yard TD play and a 21-0 lead with 5:41 left in the second quarter.

Poor field position spelled doom for the Panthers on the ensuing drive as a four-and-out led to Grayslake North taking over at its own 25-yard-line.

Three plays later, Fred Fischer made a cut-back move and raced 10 yards for the touchdown and a commanding 28-0 lead.

"We put a whole game together and this is huge for the program," said Grayslake North coach Sam Baker. "Our (starting) offense only got stopped on one drive and they made some really good plays on the screens. He (Martineau) is a talented kid, he did a really nice job, and he was really on the mark."

Martineau hit Lila with a 16-yard TD pass in the left corner of the end zone for a 35-0 lead early in the third quarter before Hochstein's 11-yard TD catch boosted the lead to 42-0 late in the third quarter.

"We started off extremely strong, and we were just hitting on all cylinders," said Martineau, who ran for 66 yards on 7 carries. "Elliott Hochstein had a great play, and it was the best game the offensive line played all year. Lila is a big target and he is a play maker, so if you get him the ball he will get the job done for you."

Round Lake broke up the shutout when Brett Kneeland caught a 36-yard TD pass from Alex Larson (5-for-10, 80 yards passing) very late in the third quarter.

The Panthers added a safety on a bad snap before Anthony Tellez (105 yards on 18 carries) scored on a 3-yard TD run with 7:52 to play.

Then Shamier Austin scored on an 80-yard TD run with one minute to play before Manny Toscano's extra point accounted for the final score.

"We got off to a slow start and we couldn't recover," said Round Lake coach Cristo Garza. "I can't complain though because we kept fighting and Grayslake North has a lot of weapons, so hats off to their coaching staff."

Round Lake's Brandon Kisiel ran for 38 yards on 9 carries while Austin wound up with 116 yards on 10 attempts following his big run at the end of the contest.

Stevenson handles Z-B

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