Benjamin Ault’s debut as head coach of Grayslake Central’s football team was a successful one as the Rams beat host Round Lake 14-0 on Friday night.
Ault moved up from an assistant’s post when Nick Goshe left after leading the Rams to a share of the Fox Valley Conference Fox Division title with a senior-dominated team.
Friday, Ault’s new players executed well enough — especially on defense — to earn the victory.
Quarterback Alex Lennartz made his first varsity start and completed just 1-of-6 passes.
That completion, however, was an 11-yard TD toss to Casey Adams with 1:59 left to play that clinched the win.
Early in the second quarter, Lennartz scored on a two-yard keeper. He finished the game running 14 times for 71 yards.
Tyler Gustke had a nice game running the ball for the Rams, gaining 91 yards on 26 carries.
For Round Lake, running back Chris Perry carried nine times for 45 yards.
I don’t consider this the first win for me. It’s the continuation of a successful program,” said Ault, who’s been with the Rams for nine seasons.
“It was good to see the kids to respond to some live competition. We lost a lot of players from last year, so this was the first game action for a lot of our kids.”
Grayslake’s defense allowed just 111 yards of total offense. Round Lake’s best surge was inside the Ram 40 in the second half.
Things will get much tougher for both teams next week as Grayslake Central will host powerful Grant and Round Lake will play its home opener against talented Grayslake North.
