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Sullivan, South Elgin strike quick in opening win

South Elgin coach Dragan Teonic likes to keep track of the explosive play statistic.

And his Storm players didn't disappoint in his team's Week 1 shutout victory against West Chicago (51-0) that opened both the season and the Upstate Eight Conference slate.

South Elgin recorded 12 explosive plays.

"We managed the emotions of the first game well and we protected the football," Teonic said.

Jake Sullivan made quick work of West Chicago. Playing only the first half, Sullivan went 7-for-8 for 210 yards and threw 4 touchdowns. He also was able to run for 89 yards.

Mason Montgomery was the beneficiary of Sullivan's handiwork, catching 5 balls for 148 yards and all of those 4 touchdown throws. He also ran in a 15-yard score. Kyle Steinhofer caught 2 passes for 62 yards and put his all-purpose yardage over 100 with 2 punt returns for 48 yards.

St. Edward update:

Veteran St. Edward coach Mike Rolando saw a mixture of outcomes in the team's 49-14 loss at home to Platteville (Wisconsin) in the season-opener.

"We played some good football at times, but gave up big plays that cost us," he said. "Our run blocking looked pretty good, allowing us to run for more than 200 yards, but we need to work on pass blocking to be more two-dimensional."

Luciano Rolando was a highlight for St. Edward, running for 118 yards and a touchdown, while Carson Busto and Chris Andrews each recorded 10 tackles on defense.

Streamwood update:

In a low-scoring 14-10 loss to rival Bartlett in Week 1, the Sabres had 5 red-zone stops, including a forced safety. Coach Keith McMaster was also pumped about the Streamwood defense recording a safety on a sack in the end zone.

McMaster also liked how his team tackled and pursued the ball. "The defensive structure was sound," he said.

On the improvement front, McMaster said mental mistakes on offense stung, as did 5 lost fumbles.

"We must do a better job holding onto the ball," he said.

A big offensive highlight for Streamwood was Jaiden Thomas running 16 times for 116 yards.

Aurora Christian update:

While Aurora Christian dropped a close 26-20 game to Ottawa Marquette in Week 1, coach David Beebe took many positives away.

"The offensive and defensive lines played consistent and good," he noted. "Our youth showed last week and we need to learn how to close out games."

Beebe cited the age-old turnover battle statistic as a deal-breaker against Marquette.

"The turnover ratio is always an enormous state and it proved true in Week 1," he said. "When you give the ball away more than you get it, you usually lose."

Beebe liked the play of both Drew Kegebein and Owen Hampton in the opener.

"Drew ran hard and Owen had some key first downs," he said.

Aurora Central Catholic update:

Chargers coach Christian Rago was upbeat coming off a Week 1 loss to defending Northern Lake County Conference-champion Wauconda.

"The great was the attitude and effort," he said. "Our boys never gave up, even in some not ideal circumstances. The good was many young guys were able to get varsity experience that will help with their quick transition to playing on Friday nights. We need to continue to focus on details with our basic fundamentals - blocking and tackling."

Jake Bianchi caught 5 passes for 125 yards to lead the way for the Chargers. Rago also gave high marks to Grant Bohr. "Grant is a freshman who took over the kicking duties and stepped in defensively for us," he said.

First-timers:

Huntley coach Mike Naymola and Burlington Central coach Brian Iossi were the two first-year head coaches in the area to pick up victories in their first games.

Naymola had been on Huntley's staff for 10 years before taking over last offseason when Matt Zimolzak resigned. Iossi was on Brian Melvin's Central staff for four seasons and got the job when Melvin resigned and took a position at NAIA Judson University.

Naymola had the thrill of sharing the experience with his high school coach, Doug Millsaps from Rolling Meadows, who was on the sideline as a guest. Naymola played for Millsaps and started his coaching career as an assistant with Millsaps.

Iossi got his first win thanks to a stirring comeback as the Rockets rallied for two touchdowns in the last 4:08 to beat Hampshire, 15-14.

- Joe Stevenson, Shaw Local

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