Maine West becomes playoff eligible with win against Niles North
Niles North got the ball first Friday night and was marching down the field against visiting Maine West.
Then came a big defensive play from Warriors junior defensive back Kamrin Hutt, and the tone of the game changed completely
Midway through the 1st quarter, Hutt picked up a Niles North fumble and raced 42 yards into the end zone to give Maine West a 7-0 lead.
The Warriors went on from there, scoring the first 7 touchdowns of the game en route to a 49-20 Central Suburban North win.
"It was amazing," said Hutt of the momentum-changing turnover. "I felt it right from the beginning of the play. Came up on the line, saw the ball hit the ground and had to go for it."
"That was a huge scoop and score to start the game off," said Maine West coach Jason Kradman. "It's always a bonus when you get a defensive or a special- teams touchdown."
The Warriors scored three more times in the first half, anchored by strong offensive line play from Michael Wilson, Louis Corey, Daniel Sankiewicz, Mike Bartusiak and Josh Schacke, to grab a 28-0 halftime lead.
Zack Norman (34- yard run), Jaden Dolphin (11- yard pass from quarterback Danny Kentgen) and Isiah Siem-Davis (5-yard run) had the first-half touchdowns for West.
"We knew they (Niles North) were very athletic and we knew as an offensive line we had to account for that," said Wilson. "We didn't really change anything tonight. We said we have to do what we do every week and get the job done.
"Great win," said linemate Corey. "A lot of hard work in practice and a lot of planning."
Maine West (5-1, 2-0) kept the ball rolling after halftime, scoring 3 times in the third quarter.
First, Kentgen rushed in from 7 yards, then Dolphin caught two more scoring strikes from the quarterback, one a 50-yard bomb and the other from 22 yards away on a great catch in the back of the end zone.
Dolphin finished with 141 yards receiving in the game.
"I had so much fun out there with my teammates tonight," said Dolphin, a senior. We really worked hard this week, wanted to come out aggressive and we did. We knew they had some playmakers, but we came out and played our game. We have the best athletes in the conference and we showed that."
On the defensive end, Dolphin came up with an interception from his defensive-back position, while teammate Siem-Davis recorded 2 sacks and Hutt also had a quarterback sack.
The Vikings tallied three times in the fourth quarter to account for the final score.
"Our quarterback played really well tonight," added Kradman, "He had a great feel for the game plan. Our offensive line protected him well and they opened up some nice running lanes. We had a great week of practice and it showed."