Mike Brey steps up, powers North Chicago victory

THE SKINNY

With key starters T.J. Edwards (QB) and Cameron Johnson (RB) on the sidelines in street clothes, new stars emerged on offense for North Suburban Prairie champ Lakes (7-1, 6-0 North Suburban Prairie) in a 51-34 road win over North Chicago (3-5). Edwards hurt his hand two weeks ago and his knee last week. Johnson hurt his leg last week. North Chicago also was shorthanded, as QB Jay Amos-Mays is no longer on the squad.

TURNING POINT

With 41 seconds to go in the first quarter, Mike Brey, filling in for Johnson, raced 47 yards to the house to cap a five-play, 63-yard drive. 12 seconds later, he scooped up a Warhawk fumbled pitch and ran 35 yards for another TD and a 21-0 lead.

THE STAR

Brey emerged as an offensive weapon in place of Johnson. Besides his fumble return for a score, he rushed 16 times for 173 yards and scored on runs of 47, 29, three and 18 yards.

BY THE NUMBERS

There were a lot of numbers, starting with 112, which is how many points North Chicago has given up in the last two games (61-38 loss at Warren last week). For the Warhawks, QB Arnold Shead carried 18 times for 115 yards and Khalil Rogers rushed 10 time for 78 yards and a 29-yard TD. Shead was 11-of-35 passing for 263 yards with three touchdowns and 4 picks. For Lakes, Jake Balliu played QB in the first half and completed 4-of-9 passes for 97 yards and 1 score. For he game, he rushed 17 times for 109 yards and a TD as he played wingback in the second half and Josh Buchholtz went under center.

QUOTABLE

“Guys like Mike Brey and Jake Balliu are the toughest guys in Lakes football.They are the unsung heroes.” — Lakes coach Luke Mertens