In a football season that has been filled with goodness thus far, things just keep getting better for Oak Lawn.
The 17-game losing streak that the Spartans brought into this season is gone. The hopes for a state playoff berth for the first time since 2009 are healthy and well.
If that weren’t enough, Oak Lawn has one of the best underclassmen in the South Suburban Red in sophomore Kamari Polk.
“First off, Kamari’s a great kid,” Spartans coach Ryan Pattison said. “He’s a great student-athlete and his teachers love him. I don’t think I’ve ever heard anyone say anything negative about him in my life.
“He’s a really special athlete where he can run with the football, he can catch the football and he’s unselfish when it comes to blocking. He’s a team player. For being a sophomore, he’s a leader and the kids look up to him. He’s just a great overall football player. And he’s a three-sport athlete.”
In a 48-20 South Suburban Red road victory over Argo on Sept. 26, Polk’s gifts were on full display. The 6-foot, 170-pounder ran eight times for 68 yards and three touchdowns, and also caught a 65-yard TD catch — all in the first half.
“I think Kamari’s strengths are his vision and his speed,” Pattison said. “His No. 1 strength is his contact balance. He breaks a lot of tackles. That’s really what he does.
“Kamari stays on his feet and he’s got the burners to take it to the house. He can run the football and basically, he can do anything we ask him to do.”
Also for Oak Lawn (5-0, 2-0), senior wingback Alex Soto had 185 yards and a 65-yard touchdown on 12 carries. Sophomore quarterback Danny Strelow passed for 103 yards and a TD while adding a pair of rushing scores.
“It’s Batman and Robin a little bit (with Soto and Polk),” Pattison said. “We have them on both sides of the field. In a lot of ways, it’s kind of like pick your poison.
“I like Soto’s elusiveness. And he’s a senior and we don’t have a lot of seniors on the team. We only start six seniors this year. Alex is a captain and he’s a leader. He’s really taken Polk under his wing in a lot of ways and shown him the ways.”
Defensively, junior Jonathan Diaz led the Spartans with two tackles for loss and two solo tackles.
For Argo (0-5, 0-3), sophomore Skylar Arellano-Phipps ran 28 times for 164 yards with TDs of 27, 51 and 5 yards.
“Skylar’s a really good wrestler,” Argonauts coach Phil Rossberg said. “… He’s a bear and he’s a bowling ball. On his first touchdown run, he pretty much got tackled and he bounced right off the guy.
“He didn’t touch the ground and with his wrestling body control, he landed on his feet and he just kept running. Skylar’s quiet but he just goes full tilt all the time.”
Andrew 52, Hammond Central (Ind.) 0: Camden Maniatis scored on runs of 5, 4 and 11 yards for Andrew (3-2). Jimmy Reilly and Jalon Lawrence added two TD runs each.
Bradley-Bourbonnais 40, Stagg 6: Olaf Kozub scored on a 3-yard run for Stagg (0-5, 0-3 Southwest Valley Red).
Brother Rice 56, St. Patrick 14: CJ Gray (20 of 27 passing, 324 yards) threw for four TDs to power Brother Rice (5-0). Colin Goggin (45 yards), Jameson Davis, Lucas Strang (35 yards) and Brendan Dickman had the TD catches. Jovan Green led the Crusaders in receiving with eight catches for 120 yards. Jaylin Green ran six times for 107 yards and two TDs.
Glenbard West 24, Lyons 17: Jack Slightom threw TD passes to Owen Matela and Grant Smith in the fourth quarter for Lyons (3-2, 0-2 West Suburban Silver).
Marist 29, IC Catholic 28: Conor Hunt (30 carries, 142 yards) scored on runs of 2 and 35 yards to lead Marist (1-4). Luke Detampel (12 of 25 passing, 145 yards) collaborated with Stephen Brown (5 catches, 82 yards) on a 12-yard TD pass.
Mount Carmel 48, Benet 0: Emmett Dowling threw for five touchdowns for Mount Carmel (5-0). One went to Quentin Burrell, who also ran a kickoff back 78 yards for a TD. Jamari Brown had two scoring receptions overall, while Marshaun Thornton and Stephen Winkler each had one. Cullen Winters had an 80-yards for a pick-six.
Riverside-Brookfield 47, Fenton 28: Nico Caputo pulled in a 53-yard TD toss from Giancarlo Garcia as Riverside-Brookfield (5-0, 2-0 Upstate 8 East) stayed perfect. Xavier Mrozik-DeJesus caught a 22-yard TD pass from Braeden Novak (8 of 17, 94 yards), while Garcia (7 carries, 84 yards) added scoring runs of 7 and 9 yards. Damian Renteria recovered a fumble for a TD for the Bulldogs.
St. Rita 48, Notre Dame 13: Brandon Johnson Jr. (18 carries, 110 yards) scored a pair of TDs for St. Rita (2-3). Steven Armbruster threw for 186 yards) and a TD to Vinny Stubitsch. Jaiden Blunt (39-yard fumble recovery) and Seamus O’Leary (30-yard interception return) had defensive scores.