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Blue Thunder remain perfect with week seven victory
The Belvidere North Blue Thunder are still perfect on the 2024 Illinois High School Football season. After beating Auburn 42-16 in week seven, the Blue Thunder have now beat their opponents by a combined score of 263-83. They extended their current win streak to seven games, and they have won nine consecutive regular season games, dating back to last season.
The Blue Thunder aren’t just winning their games, but they are doing so in comfortable fashion. Belvidere North has only finished one game with a final score differential of one score, or less. That came back in a 35-27 week two overtime victory over Freeport. In every other game, the Blue Thunder won by multiple scores.
It didn’t take long for the Blue Thunder to establish a gap between them and Auburn in week seven. In the first quarter, a drive deep into Auburn territory was capped off by a one-yard touchdown by Zavian McElroy. The successful point-after-touchdown attempt gave the Thunder an early 7-0 lead.
Before the end of the first, Trent Dinsmore tallied a 1-yard rushing touchdown of his own. Another successful kick had North up 14-0 after just 12 minutes of play. Dinsmore would go on to score his second touchdown of the day in just the second quarter. This time, Dinsmore took it 6 yards to paydirt as he put the Thunder up 21-0 with just over five minutes left in the first half.
Erick Roman provides that big play opportunity to the Belvidere North offense. He put that on display late in the first half when he scampered 67 yards to the end zone.
The Thunder surpassed triple digits in rushing yards and four scores on the ground in the first half alone. By the break, they had already jumped out to a four-score advantage as they led Auburn 28-0.
The second half was much of the same. Andrew Bucci scored a third quarter touchdown that put North up 35-0. By then, the Thunder could take their foot off the pedal as they approached their seventh victory in as many weeks.
Auburn didn’t crack the scoreboard until late in the third. A successful 2-point conversion sent the game into the fourth quarter with North leading 35-8. It didn’t take long for the Thunder to get seven of those points back, however, as Gabe Sillanpaa found the end zone early in the fourth. Sillanpaa’s touchdown put North up 42-8 in the closing minutes.
Auburn’s two garbage time touchdowns made the final score of 42-16 appear closer than it was. North still blew Auburn out on the scoreboard, but the Thunder truly controlled the game from start to finish.
Auburn entered the matchup as the clear underdogs as they came in at 0-6. Although North was expected to win, they still had to show up and beat the opponent across from them. They did just that, setting things up for an exciting finish to the 2024 regular season. This Friday, Oct. 18, the Thunder will play host to the 6-1 Hononegah Indians. In week nine, the Thunder travel to take on the Harlem Huskies, who are also 6-1 on the season.
The Thunder face two of the biggest challenges of their 2024 campaign in the final two weeks of the year. With all three teams sitting atop the NIC-10 standings, the conference could see quite the shakeup, unless the Thunder can remain perfect on the year.
