Oak Park-River Forest notches statement win over Downers North

Oak Park-River Forest 16, Downers Grove North 10 (OT)

THE SKINNY

After Justin Starks recovered a Downers Grove North fumble in overtime, OPRF junior quarterback Lloyd Yates scored on a two-yard run to give the Huskies (4-0, 2-0) an impressive West Suburban Silver win over the No. 18 Trojans (2-2, 0-2).

TURNING POINT

OPRF could’ve folded when Downers North’s Gareth Jones booted a clutch 42-yard field goal as time expired at the end of regulation, but instead came up big on defense in overtime and pulled off the upset. The field goal came after Xavier Rowe caught a 20-yard TD pass from Yates to put the Huskies up 10-7 with 1:11 left in regulation.

THE STAR

Yates demonstrated the poise of a veteran. After Downers North scored on a one-yard run by David Edwards with 2:55 remaining in the fourth to put the Trojans up 7-3, Yates completed 4-of-4 passes for 73 yards on the next possession to put his team ahead. He finished 11-of-14 for 121 yards.

BY THE NUMBERS

OPRF’s defense came up huge throughout the game, limiting the Trojans’ run-oriented offense to just 126 yards on the ground and 75 yards in the air.

QUOTABLE

“This is a real big win. We made a statement in the conference and the state. This was a statement game for us. We just came out and did what we expected to do.” — Starks