Highland Park bests rival Deerfield

Highland Park 17, Deerfield 6

THE SKINNY

Highland Park’s defense made the adjustments to limit the Deerfield triple-option after the Warriors drove down to score on their first drive. The Giants’ offense came from senior quarterback Tommy Sutker, who ran for a 41-yard score and threw a 42-yard touchdown pass.

TURNING POINT

After Deerfield drove 57 yards for a touchdown on the first drive of the game, the blocking on the extra point failed and Highland Park junior safety Tommy Rudman ran in untouched to block the kick.

THE STAR

Tommy Sutker was the best player on the field, rushing and throwing for more than 100 yards. He made the smart plays and he singlehandedly kept drives alive for the Giants when they struggled to get things going.

BY THE NUMBERS

Deerfield was limited to a little less than four yards per carry in the game and only had five rushes for 10 yards or more in 48 attempts. Those five runs comprised about 52 percent of the Warriors’ rushing yards.

QUOTABLE

“It (feels) amazing. … I went up to each senior individually and basically said ‘It’s our last chance, we need to pull it off,’ and the whole team played great.” — Highland Park quarterback Tommy Sutker