After guiding Richards to an 11-2 record last season and a Class 6A semifinal berth, quarterback Noah Escobedo appears primed for a big senior season.
In Richards’ season-opening 51-41 victory over visiting Crete-Monee on Aug. 29, Escobedo passed for 305 yards and three touchdowns. Last year in his first season as the varsity starter, Escobedo threw for 1,360 yards and 11 touchdowns.
“Noah put us in good situations and got us out of bad ones,” Bulldogs coach Tony Sheehan said. “He played all last year and he led us to a semi, so the training wheels are off and it’s his team.
“We expect a lot out of him and he’s worked very hard in the offseason. He was throwing all the time with the receivers on extra days and hit the weight room on extra days and he was in the film room. He’s a great kid and he’s a coach’s kid (dad Jaime is Eisenhower’s baseball coach), so he’s very coachable and he gets it.”
Against the Warriors, Carmelo Palumbo (47 yards), Kamani Sapara (36 yards) and Ahmad Buchanan (52 yards) were on the receiving end of Escobedo’s TD tosses.
Escobedo had plenty of help. The versatile Buchanan rushed for 69 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries while adding an interception on defense.
“We ran the ball OK when we needed to,” Sheehan said. “Ahmad Buchanan has been moved over from DB and now he’s playing DB and running back. He’s never played running back, but he’s a load to bring down.
“Ahmad’s still learning and we have a few guys on the (offensive) line back. … We need to get more consistent running the ball, but we felt going into this year that we had three wideouts coming back and Noah, so we felt we should be able to throw the ball a little bit better than we did last year.”
Also chipping in for the Bulldogs was sophomore defensive back Pierre Ray Jr. with two interceptions.
Brother Rice 43, Valparaiso (Ind.) 19: CJ Gray connected on TD passes of 20 yards to Brendan Dickman and 33 yards to Darrion Clinton as the hosts rolled. Jordan Moore’s blocked punt that was recovered by Bra’leel Brooks led to another touchdown for the Crusaders while Jaylin Green scored on runs of 1 and 57 yards. Jameson Davis added a 25-yard TD run.
Evergreen Park 26, Ag Science 2: At Gately Stadium, Omarrion Evans scored on a 45-yard TD catch as well as a 90-yard run for visiting Evergreen Park. Evans rushed five times for 110 yards while catching a pair of passes for 52 yards. Brady Bruen (68 yards passing) also scored on runs of 22 and 4 yards. The Mustangs’ defensive leaders were Alberto Aranda (10 tackles, three tackles for loss) and Garret Kazmierowicz (eight tackles, two TFL).
Nazareth 33, Kankakee 12: Dylan Wellner’s 1-yard TD run in the third quarter broke a 12-all tie as visiting Nazareth prevailed. Jackson Failla threw TD passes of 26 and 57 yards to Jake Cestone (five catches, 131 yards), while Frankie Nichols connected with Edward McLain Jr. on a 6-yard scoring strike. Failla finished 7 of 15 passing for 213 yards while Nichols was 12 of 20 for 81 yards. Trenton Walker had six receptions for 103 yards.
Oak Lawn 52, Wheeling 0: Host Oak Lawn snapped its 17-game losing streak as Alex Soto caught a 96-yard TD pas and ran eight times for 104 yards. Jayden Schlosser added 10 carries for 151 yards and two scores. Defensively, Laith Abassi ran an interception back for a score.
Plainfield East 55, Argo 2: Chance Sanders passed for 31 yards for the host Argonauts.
Romeoville 20, Stagg 19: In Palos Hills, Olaf Kozub carried 18 times for 157 yards and two touchdowns for Stagg. He also had three catches for 47 yards. Jaylen Logan ran back an interception for the Chargers’ other TD. Stagg quarterback Matthew Nyblom passed for 100 yards. Defensively, Brady Driscoll paced the Chargers with 7.5 tackles and a forced fumble.
St. Laurence 19, King 0: Cory Les (eight carries, 51 yards) scored on runs of 15 and 3 yards for the Vikings in Burbank. Les added five receptions for 38 yards along with a fumble recovery. Noah Taylor ran for 57 yards and a TD and passed for 32 yards, while Jimmy McDermott ran for 42 yards and passed for 30 more. Defensively, the Vikings were paced by Sean Rice (10 tackles), David Campbell (seven tackles) and Brian Killen (five tackles, one sack, one pass defended).