Host Grayslake Central raced out to a 22-0 halftime lead on Friday, and then held off Johnsburg for a 29-12 victory in a Fox Valley Fox game..
The Rams are now 2-3 on the season and will play at CL Central next week.
Johnsburg has now lost 17 consecutive games, dating back to late September of 2010.
The Rams took command early. One play after a Davonta Jennings pick, Natori Galmore raced 44 yards for a touchdown and a 7-0 lead 1:23 in the game.
Later in the first quarter, Jourden Swopes of the Rams raced 74 yards for a touchdown.
And in the second quarter, the Rams’ Matt Loeffl picked up a bad pitch and went five yards for a defensive score.
Moments later, Johnsburg snapped the ball out of its end zone on a punt to make it 22-0 at halftime.
But Johnsburg was not ready to quit. In the third period, Nick Brengman scored on one-yard runs at the 9:00 and 4:35 marks to make it a game at 22-12.
Grayslake, however, regained control when Kacey Adams’ 39-yard TD run capped an 83-yard drive with 7:21 to play.
“We were able to take advantage of some big plays offensively tonight,” said Rams coach Ben Ault. “Tyler (QB Tayler Gustke) did a nice job running the offense, and our running backs ran effectively.”
Swopes led the Rams in rushing, carrying 10 times for 118 yards.
“Jourden has done a nice job for us,” said Ault. “He’s invested four years into the program and has really started to blossom.”
Swopes recently from wingback to fullback due to an injury.
“With our new offensive system, starting off 2-3 is a positive,” said Ault, a first-year coach. “We have a tough test next week against Crystal Lake Central.”
