advertisement

Prospect times it right against St. Viator

Prospect's tempo wore down St. Viator.

Until, finally, Michael Shafis helped the Knights accelerate to a season-opening win.

After Prospect used its new up-tempo offense to grind away against St. Viator, Shafis tallied 3 touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Knights rallied for a 28-13 victory Friday in Mt. Prospect.

It was the first meeting between the two neighboring schools, separated by just a few miles. It was played before a loud and raucous crowd that ignored the light rain and saw Prospect's offense become a speed trap.

Under new head coach Dan DeBoeuf, the Knights turned up the gas and eventually heated up against the larger St. Viator team.

"That was the plan," DeBoeuf said. "That's what we do. Tempo is everything to us. We knew we may be going down into the fourth quarter. But by playing 22 starters, we are going to grind our guys, and it showed."

DeBoeuf, who came to Prospect from Johnsburg this year, said it was great to get his first win as a Knight.

"It was a fun night," DeBoeuf said. "I am proud of the guys."

Prospect was down 13-6 heading into the fourth quarter.

After quarterback Jimmy Martin sparked the Knights with a 31-yard run early in the fourth quarter, the Lions began to pick up the speed. Sophomore running back Luke Zardzin, who had 20 carries for 74 yards, also began to take a toll on the Lions.

"It is that Knight tempo," said Martin, who finished with 79 yards on 19 carries. "It is such a fast paced offense. We just push and push and push. We just keep pounding, pounding, pounding."

Enter Shafis, Prospect's leading rusher last season. Shafis, who was playing middle linebacker, slid into the backfield for a change a pace and gave the Knights the extra spark they needed.

"The plan was just have me rotate in at running back at times" Shafis said. "I really enjoyed it. I just fought my way through the line."

Shafis, who had 5 carries in the fourth quarter, scored on 3 of them. His first touchdown run of 16 yards, tied the game at 13 with 7:21 to play.

Buoyed by Shafis' run, Prospect's defense next came up big. Adam Ryerson, who plays linebacker, jumped a slant rout and picked off a pass a returned it to the Viator 32.

"It was surreal," said Ryerson, who is a junior. "I knew the play because we saw it on film. I saw the crosser and I knew the ball was coming right as it did."

After 5 running plays with Martin and Zardzin, Shafis came in to bull over with a 4-yard touchdown run, and suddenly the Knights were up 20-13 with 3:48 to play.

The Prospect defense came up with another stop and Shafis put the game away with a 23-yard burst right up the middle behind Andrew Tertel, Armen Surenian, Caleb Smith, Mitchell Kamp and Eric Malinowski.

"That pace has been tough, that's for sure," said Kamp, who anchors the line at center. "We have been pushing ourselves and throwing up on ourselves in practice. But the pace is definitely worth it. We know how it affects our opponents and we are good with it."

St. Viator appeared to be on control for the first 3 quarters thanks to the running of Elijah Black. The senior had a 25-yard touchdown run in the first quarter to make it 6-0.

Anthony Santangelo kicked the first of his two field goals from 30 yards out to make it 6-3 in the second quarter.

It remained that way until the second play from scrimmage in the second half. Black, who finished with 148 yards on 13 carries, then made a spectacular 80-yard touchdown run to make it 13-3.

Santangelo then kicked his second field goal, this one from 33 yards late in the third quarter.

St. Viator had an opportunity to add to its lead on the next possession, but missed a field goal. The Lions also had another field goal blocked just before the end of the first half.

"We just got wore down," St. Viator coach Dave Archibald said. "We felt that we were about to put them away. Once they got momentum they were able to sustain it offensively."

Images: Prospect over St. Viator, 28-13 in week one football

  Prospect's Jack Kazmer and Gary Moeller knock down a potential touchdown pass intended for St. Viator's Kevin Murphy in the end zone in the first half at Prospect on night. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
  St. Viator's Elijah Black spins to avoid Prospect's Matthew Kuleszynski on his way to a touchdown in the first half. John Starks/jstarks@dailyherald.com
Article Comments
Guidelines: Keep it civil and on topic; no profanity, vulgarity, slurs or personal attacks. People who harass others or joke about tragedies will be blocked. If a comment violates these standards or our terms of service, click the "flag" link in the lower-right corner of the comment box. To find our more, read our FAQ.