South Elgin tops Fenton to tie for UEC crown
A certain symmetry attended South Elgin's 56-13 defeat of Fenton Friday night in South Elgin.
The Storm scored 2 touchdowns through the air. Two backs scored twice apiece on the ground. And special teams added 2 scores for the Storm (8-1, 8-1).
Symmetry or not, the scoring output was a thing of beauty for the Storm after being held to their lowest point total of the season a week ago against Bartlett. The win allowed South Elgin to clinch a share of the Upstate Eight title with Bartlett and Glenbard East and improve its playoff seeding.
Alex Noworol returned 2 punts for touchdowns, Marquis Gillespie II and Corve King scored twice each on the ground, and Ben Karpowicz threw 2 TD passes for South Elgin.
Nick Benn threw a touchdown pass to Andre Bess and ran for another score for Fenton (2-7, 2-7).
The Storm wasted no time, scoring on the game's first possession. Gillespie took a pitch 18 yards down the left sideline to put the home team ahead for good. Then, after the defense forced a 3-and-out, Noworol returned the ensuing punt 44 yards for another score.
"It's always great to get going early," Karpowicz said. "It makes everybody play easier, especially after last week after we had a tough time moving the football, it was good to get out here and get back to normal."
Four second-quarter scores allowed the Storm to break the game wide open. Karpowicz threw scoring passes to Gillespie and King, King scored on a 48-yard run, and Noworol capped it off with his second touchdown return 8 seconds before halftime.
"I thought we played really well in all three phases," said Storm coach Dragan Teonic. "We've got a couple of situational things that we probably need to address. But I'm really proud of the kids."
Teonic views the conference crown as the first in school history, as the Storm previously won a division of the UEC.
Fenton kept things interesting for awhile. After a long kickoff return by Frank Krygier, they drove 52 yards, with Bess scoring on a 22-yard screen pass to make it 21-7. But South Elgin needed just 4 plays to get it back, with King taking it the last 48.
Karpowicz was the model of efficiency, attempting just 5 passes but completing all 5 for 108 yards and adding 16 yards on 3 rushes. Gillespie finished with 123 rushing yards on just 7 attempts while King rushed 4 times for 67 yards. With a 63-yard TD reception, Gillespie finished with 186 yards from scrimmage.
For Fenton, Benn threw for 116 yards. Bess caught 2 of those passes for 51 yards and rushed for 70 more.