Izayah James, Lakes wash away Prairie Ridge

Junior running back Izayah James celebrated his return to the field in style Friday night, rushing for 141 yards and three touchdowns as host Lakes crushed Prairie Ridge of Crystal Lake 38-14 in the first round of the Class 6A playoffs.

The Eagles (9-1) will host Wheaton St. Francis or host Grayslake North in the Round of 16.

Prairie Ridge, co-champion with Grayslake North of the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division, finished 6-4.

James, a speedster, missed the Eagles’ last three games with a hip injury.

But he was in top form against Prairie Ridge, leading the Eagles to an early lead and then putting the Wolves away in the second half.

Lakes led 17-7 halftime as James ran for 92 yards on 14 carries and scored from the 2 on the half’s final play which was extended one snap due to a penalty on Prairie Ridge with all 0’s on the clock.

Earlier, Lakes went up 3-0 on a 34-yard field goal by Cody Brumm and 10-0 on a TD run from the 4 by Jake Balliu on fourth-and-goal with 3:44 left in the half.

Prairie Ridge answered Balliu’s score with a 5-yard TD run by Nathan Griffin, whose 54-yard burst set up the tally that made it 10-7.

But Lakes then drove and James scored on the half’s extra play.

Next, Lakes took the second-half kickoff and drove for a score and a 24-7 lead.

James got the points on a two-yard run, but it was set up by a 25-yard run by quarterback Jordan Mercure on third-and-15 at the Prairie Ridge 28.

And James and Mercure weren’t done yet.

With 2:17 to go in the third quarter, James’ 3-yard TD run made it 31-7, and Mercure turned a Prairie Ridge fumble into a 1-yard TD run that made it a 38-7 blowout.

Mercure, like James, is just a junior. He completed 6-of-11 passes for 93 yards, and ran 11 times for 130 yards and a score.

Meanwhile, Prairie Ridge turned the ball over twice to fall out of contention.

A late score on a 22-yard run by QB Brett Covalt completed the scoring.

Lakes finished with 413 yards of offense while the Wolves had 268 — 225 on the ground.

“It felt great to be back. It was just a good feeling to be out there. ’m 100 percent. I feel like a new person.” said James who suited up for special teams but hasn’t played on offense since hurting his hip in practice before Week 7’s game.

“The offensive line was as good as it gets today,” James added. “With the job they did, it was impossible not to find the holes.”

Lakes ran 52 times for 320 yards.

Lakes coach Luke Mertens was happy with his team’s offensive domination.

“Our entire running game could not have been any better than it was today,” he said. “We knew that was a key component in the game.”