Hinsdale Central rolls past St. Charles North

Senior Jack Adams rushed for a pair of first-half touchdowns and Hinsdale Central rolled to a 30-0 victory over St. Charles North during Friday’s season opener in Hinsdale.

Adams (17 carries, 107 yards) scored on a 14-yard run early in the second quarter and then found the end zone again on a 3-yard play with just 1:20 remaining before halftime.

“I’m happy to be back after getting hurt at the beginning of last season,” Adams said. “We came out firing and usually we don’t come out like that in the first half. We drove the ball down and attacked their defense like we should be doing.”

The Red Devils outgained the North Stars, 489-129. The hosts were especially greedy in stopping the run, limiting St. Charles North to just 22 rushing yards on 13 carries.

“Our linebackers are exceptionally quick and fly around,” Hinsdale Central coach Rich Tarka said. “They’re an experienced unit that plays well together and our defensive line is much improved over last year.”

St. Charles North had its most success in throwing the ball as junior quarterback Erik Miller completed 13-of-21 passes for 107 yards with one interception.

“We told them at halftime that it’s only 17-0 and we’re just a score away from tightening it up,” North Stars coach Mark Gould said. “They probably just wore us out, out there. Their size kept leaning into us and the guys were pretty tired toward the end.”

Brian Owens played a significant role in both second half scores for the winners. The 6-foot-2 senior quarterback connected with Ian Bunting for a 38-yard touchdown in the third quarter. In the fourth quarter he found the end zone on a quarterback sneak.

“We wanted to do some different things and formations,” Tarka said. “We got the O-line and the running game going and then had some kids make some plays and help spread it out.”

John Andrews booted a 42-yard field goal to give the Red Devils a 3-0 lead in the opening quarter.