Lake Zurich Ends Harlem’s Football Season in Playoff Opener

By Bob Balgemann, REPORTER

 The Chicago suburbs have claimed three more NIC-10 football teams in the opening round of the State Playoffs.

One of those prevailing teams was Lake Zurich and its victim was Harlem. The Bears, who finished 6-1 in the North Suburban Conference and 7-2 overall, scored early and often on their way to a 40-0 victory. That win put them in the second round of 7A competition against Oak Park Fenwick (9-1), which defeated another NIC-10 team, Hononegah, 31-10. The two conference front-runners, Boylan (9-1) and Rockford Auburn (9-1), met with differing fates. Arlington Heights St. Viator, the No. 13 seed in the 6A playoffs, upset fourth-seeded Boylan 24-13. Rockford Auburn, meanwhile, lived to play another day after being scared by Chicago St. Rita (5-5), the 25th seed in 7A. The Knights the No. 8 seed, won, 22-21. Harlem, which closed at 6-4, couldn’t get untracked. Lake Zurich used a handful of big plays and four turnovers to score seven of the nine times it had the ball in the first and second quarters. It was 40-0, Bears, at halftime. The hosts didn’t do anything with their first offensive possession. But after that, they put three touchdowns and a field goal on the board the next four times they touched the ball. The field goal, kicked by Kyle Obsuszt, covered 45 yards and came with three minutes remaining in the opening period.

Graduating Seniors

And so the Huskies will say good-bye to a number of Seniors who are graduating in May 2017. Two of the big loses are quarterback Trent Willey and running back Brenton Shaw. Going into the playoffs Willey had completed 72-of-142 passes for 862 yards and 11 touchdowns. An injury suffered in the win over Hononegah put him on the sideline for the bulk of the final regular season game of the season against Jefferson. But even then he came in and threw his 11th touchdown pass of the season in the waning moments of the fourth quarter. Willey rose from being the backup Sophomore signal caller to the varsity starter at the beginning of his Sophomore year. He remained in that leadership role for three years.  For his career, he completed 260 of 476 passes for 3,163 yards and 30 touchdowns. Shaw was called up from the Sophomore team early in the 2014 season and finished with 40 carries for 209 yards. As a Junior, he ran 233 times for 1,698 yards and 14 touchdowns. After this year’s Jefferson game, he had 242 carries for 1,667 yards and 21 TDs. All of that adds up to a grand total of 515 rushes for 3,574 yards – an average of 6.9 yards per carry – and 35 touchdowns. This year he also returned one punt for a score. He was a major contributor on defense, too, with 28 tackles, 24 of them solo, one pass interception, one fumble recovery and one pass defense. On special teams, he blocked a punt.

Harlem’s receiving corps loses its No. 1 and No. 3 receivers. Senior Anthony Byrne caught 24 passes for 319 yards and four touchdowns while another Senior, Gabe Haun, had 22 receptions for a 384 yards and six touchdowns. His yardage and TDs were team bests. This year’s Harlem team opened with a relatively inexperienced defense. But a number of Seniors rose to the challenge to help the Huskies finish third in the NIC-10.

Graduation will claim starters Trevor Kramp (55 tackles), Jordan Jacobsen (31 tackles, one for a loss, one pass interception, which was returned 30 yards for a touchdown, and one fumble recovery); Shaw (28 tackles); Dalton Hambrock (21 tackles, one fumble recovery and two sacks); and Justin Braskett (12 tackles, two sacks). Seniors who played on defense and made at least one tackle during the season were Haun, Byrne, Devin Bondurant, Matthew Box, Devon Lawrence, Kaleb Cunningham (plus one fumble recovery) and Gage White. Another Senior, Kyle Pea, made his mark in the kicking game. He converted 31-of-34 extra point attempts while being successful on 4-of-8 field goal opportunities. He also played some on defense.