It was a short stint at the top for Warren.
The Blue Devils’ defense lived up to the hype but the offense was unable to get much done against Maine South in a 10-2 loss on Friday in Gurnee.
Another major power went down on Friday as Lincoln-Way East lost to Naperville Central 20-17. That ends the Griffins’ state-best 21 game winning streak. Lincoln-Way East’s last loss win the 2018 Class 8A semifinals.
The Redhawks knocked off Hinsdale Central in Week 1 and arguably have the state’s most impressive resume after two weeks.
Seth Lendzion made a 30-yard field goal with one second remaining to give Naperville Central the win. Northwestern recruit Reggie Fleurima had eight receptions from 152 yards and two touchdowns.
Road warriors
Preseason No. 1 St. Rita picked up a nice 27-14 win against Louisville Trinity on Friday in Kentucky. Trinity has won 27 state championships.
The Mustangs will travel to Wilmette to face Loyola on Saturday afternoon. Ohio State recruit Kaleb Brown, who was injured in the first quarter of the season opening loss to Mount Carmel, is expected to be out another two to three weeks.
Joliet Catholic also impressed out of state. The Hilltoppers beat Cardinal Ritter, a traditional St. Louis power, 30-20.
Public League worries
There is no doubt that COVID-19 impacted Public League schools the harshest. CPS didn’t allow contact days last year and many schools sat out the spring season entirely.
It might be a long road back to relevance, even for some of the top teams. Phillips, which lost coach Troy McAllister to Sandburg, lost 33-6 to Batavia Week 1 and 42-0 to Mount Carmel Week 2.
Simeon is 0-2, with a 55-6 loss to Joliet Catholic and a 33-0 defeat at Bolingbrook.
Morgan Park and Kenwood appear to be the top teams so far this season. The Mustangs beat St. Viator on Friday and were competitive in a loss at Fenwick Week 1. Kenwood knocked off Lane Week 1 and beat Hillcrest on the road Friday.
Fun finishes
There were a handful of fun, last-second victories on Friday night. Lemont, which still doesn’t have a nickname, knocked off Nazareth at the buzzer.
A pair of juniors pulled off the feat. Quarterback Payton Salomon threw the 40-yard pass to Mike Jabaay. Salomon scrambled to find some space and fired into the corner of the end zone where Jabaay dived to make the grab.
The heroics gave Lemont a 15-10 win over the Roadrunners. Watch the final play here:
— Payton Salomon (@PaytonSalomon) September 4, 2021
Lemont is off to a 2-0 start. It beat St. Charles East 41-6 in Week 1 and will travel to Shepard for Week 3.
