One of the underclassmen in the area who bears watching is St. Laurence quarterback Noah Taylor.
In the Vikings’ 35-19 CCL/ESCC crossover victory over visiting St. Patrick on Oct. 10, the 5-foot-11, 175-pound sophomore was 9 of 13 passing for 87 yards and three touchdowns. He also carried twice for 22 yards.
“Noah has gotten so much better as the year is going on,” St. Laurence coach Pat Swanson said. “He’s becoming a bit more confident and he’s understanding the reads. He was a phenomenal freshman football player with a huge arm.
“His understanding and his football IQ have been great things to watch grow. When he starts making the right reads and he understands why we’re looking in this direction, he’s really got a bright future for us. We’re definitely excited for him. … He’s got the tools to make us pretty special here.”
Taylor threw TD passes of 10 and 15 yards to Matt Williams (five catches, 60 yards) and one of 9 yards to Cory Les.
Les also was among the significant contributors for St. Laurence (5-2), which became playoff-eligible for the third straight season. The senior finished with 111 yards on 19 carries while scoring on a 16-yard run.
“Cory is an animal,” Swanson said. “He played practically every snap of the game. He is one of the most violent runners of the football that I’ve seen and he is not afraid of anything.
“He will put his pads on you and he will let you know. If it’s a gain of 3 (yards), you’re definitely going to feel it more than he’s going to feel it. He had a touchdown run (Friday) night to put us up 28-0 where he ended up breaking about six tackles and diving into the end zone while there’s a guy hanging onto his legs.”
The Vikings also scored on a 28-yard pass from tight end Tyler Malinowski to Kameron McHugh (three catches, 39 yards). Jimmy McDermott added 55 yards on nine carries.
Defensively, St. Laurence was led by junior linebacker Sean Rice, who had 11 tackles, two assists, one tackle for loss and one interception. Williams added an interception while Luke Cavasos had four tackles and one tackle for loss.
Aurora Christian 49, Chicago Christian 7: Joshua Crawford ran for a touchdown for Chicago Christian (2-5, 1-4 Chicagoland Christian).
Brother Rice 54, Notre Dame 14: CJ Gray was 13 of 14 passing for 178 yards and three TDs and also ran for a score to power Brother Rice (6-1). Rocco Galasso was 13 of 16 passing for 128 yards and three TD passes. Jovan Green (seven catches, 111 yards, three TDs), Lucas Strang (three catches, 51 yards, TD) and Jack McNamara (three catches, 38 yards, TD) were the leading receivers for the Crusaders.
Eisenhower 40, Evergreen Park 6: Cory Isaac (23 carries, 100 yards) scored on a 3-yard run for Evergreen Park (3-4, 0-4 South Suburban Red). Gavin Wheeler had nine tackles for the Mustangs.
Lincoln-Way Central 28, Andrew 21: Grant Ruppert recovered a fumble for a touchdown, Landon Paredes threw a TD pass to Camden Maniatis and Maniatis threw a scoring pass to Jameson O’Reilly for Andrew (4-3, 2-2 Southwest Valley Red).
Lyons 32, Oak Park-River Forest 6: Jack Slightom (10 of 14 passing, 200 yards) threw two TD passes to Grant Smith (four catches, 101 yards) and one to Brady Rusk while EJ Kuhlman (23 carries, 171 yards) had a 43-yard TD run for the Lions (5-2, 2-2 West Suburban Silver).
Marist 35, St. Ignatius 21: Conor Hunt’s 23-yard TD run broke a 21-all tie in the fourth quarter as Marist (2-5) prevailed. Hunt, who finished with 25 carries for 168 yards, added TD runs of 15 and 31 yards. Luke Detampel (13 carries, 106 yards) scored on runs of 7 and 46 yards for the RedHawks.
Mount Carmel 35, Joliet Catholic 7: Emmett Dowling was 21 of 36 passing for 294 yards and four TDs as Mount Carmel (7-0) rolled. Dowling also scored on a 5-yard run. Marshaun Thornton (three catches, 81 yards, two TDs), Quentin Burrell (six catches, 76 yards, TD) and Gavin Conjar (two catches, 40 yards, TD) were the top receivers for the Caravan.
Nazareth 43, De La Salle 0: Jackson Failla threw TD passes of 25 and 34 yards to Jake Cestone for Nazareth (6-1). Charles Calhoun scored on runs of 3 and 15 yards. Frankie Nichols added a 5-yard TD pass to Eddie Austin, while John Allegretti chipped in a 24-yard TD run. De La Salle is 0-7.
Riverside-Brookfield 67, Elmwood Park 8: Giancarlo Garcia (40-yard run), Jake Dudzik (5-yard catch), John Evans (70-yard kickoff return) and Jaden Barrett (10-yard interception return) scored for Riverside-Brookfield (7-0, 4-0 Upstate Eight East).
St. Rita 55, Leo 7: Steven Armbruster threw three TD passes and also scored on a 35-yard run for St. Rita (3-4). Langston Smith had a 60-yard TD run and a touchdown catch for the Mustangs. Donovan Evans and Vinny Stubitsch had receiving TDs for St. Rita, while Brandon Johnson and Damon Sutton scored on the ground. Liam Brazel also threw a TD pass to Darrion McElrath-Bey.
Shepard 48, Argo 0: Aarien Lee (nine carries, 107 yards) scored on runs of 5 and 63 yards for Shepard (2-5, 2-2 South Suburban Red). Lee (two catches, 42 yards) scored on a 26-yard pass from Billy Massey (3 of 5 passing, 82 yards). Antonio McCarroll (6-yard run), Tyrese Howard (2-yard run), Isaiah Martinez (37-yard interception) and Quamaye Porter (61-yard interception) also scored for the Astros. Argo is 0-7, 0-5.