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Impressive debut for Buffalo Grove QB Luyando

Buffalo Grove's Ian Luyando is a true diamond in the rough.

Luyando, who is a senior quarterback, had only played just one half of organized football before his start last Saturday for the Bison. And he was more than impressive.

He was 14-of-19 for 225 yards and threw 5 touchdown passes. He also rushed for 38 yards and another touchdown in Buffalo Grove's 48-19 win over Elk Grove.

Luyando, who is 6-foot-2 and 195 pounds, is not an ordinary rookie quarterback. He actually has had experience playing quarterback. Just not in the United States.

Luyando, who was born in Mexico, played football there. He was the starting quarterback for his high school in Guadalajara during his sophomore season. He and his team were having great success until a knee injury cut his season short.

He moved to Buffalo Grove after that when his father, who is a steel executive, got a position in the Chicago area.

After rehabbing his knee from ACL surgery, Luyando played in a JV game in 2019 for Buffalo Grove. But he tore his meniscus, and Bison head coach Jeff Vlk decided to hold Luyando out of full contact drills for the remainder of the season.

"We wanted to make sure he was safe," Vlk said. "We were a little nervous that he was safe. We got him in the weight room and he has done very well in there. We wanted him ready for 2020."

But the COVID-19 pandemic delayed that until just a month ago when high school football resumed. Luyando jumped onto the field and immediately began to impress his coaches with his ability and familiarity of the game.

"He is like having another coach on the field," Vlk said. "And he speaks three languages: Spanish, English and football. He is so smart. His knowledge of the game is incredible. He reads his checks very well."

Luyando says football in Mexico and here is the same except for one major factor.

"The speed," Luyando said. "At the end of the day it is football in both places."

Luyando has shown he has adjusted quite nicely to the speed of the game at Buffalo Grove. The next step is to show college coaches.

It is a bit late," Luyando said. "The only film on me is from when I played in Mexico. But I want to play in college and get a good education."

Until then, it will be five more weeks of play in the Northwest suburbs. That includes throwing passes to his younger brother Andre, who is a 6-foot-6 junior. The duo connected on an 11-yard touchdown play against Elk Grove.

'It's great playing with my brother," Ian Luyando said. "We couldn't do that in Mexico because the high schools there are just the last three years. He wasn't in school with me. It was great experience to throw to him. Everyone was going crazy."

Hersey gets 250th win:

With its win Saturday over Rolling Meadows, Hersey won for the 250th time in school history.

The Huskies, who won a state title in 1987, have had seven coaches since they began playing football in 1968. Hersey is currently at 250-233 in the 53 years it has had a team.

Current head coach Joe Pardun, who has been at the helm since 2014, has won 41 of those games and says his players were excited to get to this mark.

"I could barely talk to my kids after," Pardun said. "I have been here my whole career. When you put your heart in something, yeah, its special."

Ben Clawson, who scored 5 touchdowns in that win over Rolling Meadows said this was a big experience for him and his teammates.

"It was win number 250 for Hersey," Clawson said. "It was an emotional game to play in."

A solution for no tickets:

Due to COVID restrictions, game tickets are extremely difficult to come by this spring. Although schools are allowed 20 percent capacity, the tickets available have been reserved for families of home and visiting players as well as for current students of the home team.

Barrington announced on Twitter on Tuesday that the game it is hosting with Palatine on Friday will not have any general admission or walk-up tickets available. All game tickets had already been dispersed.

However, there is a way to watch your favorite high school football team.

Barrington, like all of the local schools, are livestreaming the games. The livestreams are produced by the home team. The Daily Herald will publish that livestream information for the Northwest suburbs in the weekly game outlook article.

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