THE SKINNY
All the scoring came in the first half as Rich Central (9-1) held on late in the fourth quarter to beat Romeoville in a Class 6A first-round game Friday in Olympia Fields. Rich Central won a playoff opener for the first time since 2002, which was the last time Romeoville (5-5) earned a playoff berth.
TURNING POINT
Halftime. After a back-and-forth, offensive-minded first half, neither team scored in the second.
THE STARS
Rich Central senior running back Ahmad McClellan ran for two touchdowns while the defense forced a turnover on downs on Romeoville’s final possession at the Rich Central 27 with 1:20 left in the game.
BY THE NUMBERS
McClellan ran 23 times for 96 yards and touchdown runs of 2 and 9 yards. Rich Central quarterback Michael Hoover ran for 63 yards and a score and completed 8 of 17 passes for 103 yards. Romeoville running back Gil Whitaker rushed for 171 yards and a touchdown.
QUOTABLE
“We had to make an adjustment at halftime because they were big and were running the ball real well. That’s a good football team from a good conference. Our guys showed up tonight.” — Rich Central coach Terrell Alexander
