Hersey offense racks up 464 total yards in win over Elk Grove

Since the 2017 season, few teams in the area have been able to match the record that the football program at Hersey has been able to accomplish.

Heading into their MSL East opener Friday night at Elk Grove, the Huskies, under Joe Pardun, have a .790 winning percentage (34-9) that included an East crown in 2017 and three straight Class 7A playoff berths.

It was also in that same 2017 campaign, former Prospect High standout and University of Illinois football alum Miles Osei took over the reins at Elk Grove, seeking to turn around the Grenadiers gridiron program that has made piecemeal progress heading into the contest where it was off to its best start since 2013 after having split its first four games.

Both teams had one goal in mind: to successfully complete the game prior to the arrival of heavy rains forecast for later in the evening.

Thanks to an offensive that was running in perfect condition, Hersey took care of that problem, posting a 42-7 win at Haskell Memorial Stadium as it found pay dirt the first six times it had the ball on offense.

“There's a lot of confidence when it comes to doing your job the right way, and I thought that showed tonight for sure,” Hersey coach Joe Pardun said of an offense that gained 464 yards on the night. “The boys executed. They did their job. It was clean. We knew there might be weather coming in. Just to see that was impressive.”

What impressed the seventh-year Huskies leader was the command and control displayed by his senior quarterback Jimmy Makuh.

He was responsible for 4 of the 6 Hersey touchdowns, three by air and a 1-yard keeper that built a 35-0 lead at the break. A second 4-yard touchdown toss to Dylan Carlquist (4 catches, 73 yards, 2 TDs) with 5:18 left in the third made it 42-0 and triggered the running clock the rest of the way.

Makuh (13 of 16, 223 yards) also added 41 yards on the ground as part of a running attack that totaled 241 yards. He credited his squad's no-nonsense approach to its victorious effort.

“That's what makes us good,” Makuh said. “Other than that, we're having fun balling out. When you have a group of guys like we have that everyone cares as much as they do, that's why we're the way we are.”

Brett Kersemeier (10 carries, 73 yards) had a pair of rushing touchdowns (1 and 6 yards) for Hersey, while Elk Grove quarterback Mitchell Janczak's 73-yard touchdown run with 4:04 left in the third got the Grenadiers (2-3, 0-1) their only points on the night.