Hersey rolls past Vernon Hills

On a night where Vernon Hills High School was honored by the American Legion due to its former use of an aircraft carrier, it was Hersey's pass defense that led the way for the Huskies in a 61-8 nonconference win.

The Cougars began with their normal game plan of a pass-heavy offense led by senior quarterback Derek Jarrell. They drove all the way down the field to the 4-yard line until the Huskie defense held firm.

After that drive, the Huskies never looked back scoring 27 unanswered points, including two rushing touchdowns by senior running back Luke Picchiotti. The Huskies had a balanced attack of rushing and passing the ball led by senior quarterback Ryan Justice, who threw for 2 touchdowns and 238 yards.

The Huskies' pass defense held the Cougar offense to only 8 points, those points coming on a late first half drive, with Jarrell punching it in on a 4-yard rush for the Cougars.

Vince Carso showed his versatility for the Huskies as well, with a rushing touchdown and a 65-yard interception returned for a touchdown, which would've been his second if it wasn't for a pass interference call in the second quarter.

The score was 27-8 at the end of the first half. The Huskies received the second half kickoff and shutout the Cougars in the second half. The Huskie defense caused 3 turnovers, all 3 of them turning into scores for the Huskies, 2 of them were interception returns for touchdowns, Carsos and Pat Finigan had one in garbage time.

For the Cougars, senior receiver Mekhi McCarthy had a big night, with 22 receptions for 60 yards. For the Huskies, Kacper Rutkiewicz came in clutch when the Huskies needed a big play, including two plays for over 40 yards, and a 10-yard touchdown.

The Huskies remained undefeated for the season and the Cougars fell to 2-1 on the season and look to bounce back against Wheeling next week.