Quinn Conaghan scores four touchdowns in Glenbrook South’s win over Deerfield

GLENVIEW — The Glenbrook South football team recovered a Deerfield fumble less than a minute after the opening kickoff Friday night at John Davis Stadium.

Three minutes later, the Titans converted that turnover into a touchdown. It was first of six they scored in the first half in route to a 43-6 victory.

Four of those scores came courtesy of senior running back Quinn Conaghan, who rushed for 58 yards on six carries in first-half action. Completing Glenbrook South’s one-two punch was senior quarterback Fitz Stadler. Despite constant rain and a finger-numbing 40-degree temperature, Stadler completed 6-of-10 passes for 109 yards, one of which was a 37-yard heave to senior Sean McDonagh for a touchdown with 1:34 left in the first quarter.

The Titans would score again just 40 seconds later when a Warriors miscue allowed them to recover the kickoff on the 3-yard line. Conaghan made short work of that field position, scoring his third touchdown of the first quarter.

Asked whether the rainy weather affected his team’s game plan, Glenbrook South coach Mike Noll said not at all.

“We just ran our offense,” he said. The conditions “weren’t good, but they weren’t that terribly bad. I’ve seen worse.”

Stadler also said the rain wasn’t a problem.

“Throughout the day, at school, we knew it was coming,” Stadler said. “We tried to keep the ball dry and take care of the ball every time we took a snap, so we were prepared for it.”

He added: “The linemen obviously helped out. There was a great push upfront.”

Defensively, the Titans’ line was strong all night, too, holding the Warriors to just 42 first-half yards.

A 22-yard field goal from junior Henry Tarbox sent the Titans to the locker room leading 43-0 at halftime. That score triggered a running clock for the remainder of the game.

But even that didn’t play into Deerfield’s favor. Glenbrook South started with the ball in the third, and because of a Warriors miscue on a Titans punt, the Titans kept control of the ball for the entire quarter.

Deerfield’s one bright spot of the night came midway through the fourth quarter, when junior fullback Johnny Fisher broke loose twice, once for 50 yards and a second time for a 38-yard touchdown. Fisher finished with 99 yards for the night on six carries and had one fumble early in the first quarter.

“That was just not an acceptable performance by us,” Deerfield coach Steve Winiecki said. “The blame lays on me right now. We’ll take a look at the video, we’ll see what’s there, and we’ll be better than this. We’ll be better than this.”