Highland Park scores 28 straight to beat Waukegan

HIGHLAND PARK — Chants of “undefeated” rang out in Highland Park’s student section as the final seconds of the Giants’ 28-7 win over Waukegan ticked off the clock Friday. And when the Giants walked into their locker room, they found a massive “4-0” scrawled in green marker on their whiteboard.

In its homecoming game, Highland Park’s offense had to adjust against a Waukegan team that plays an aggressive style of defense, rushing eight men on most downs. Facing constant blitzing, Waukegan’s first three opponents of the season had combined for negative-10 rushing yards.

Highland Park offensive coordinator Bill Morrison adapted accordingly, dialing up plays that took advantage of gaps in the Bulldogs’ defense.

“You’ve got to take what they give you,” Morrison told his team after the win. “If they want to put eight guys in the box, we’ll throw it. If they want to spread it out, we’ll run it.”

For most of the night, that meant putting the ball in the hands of senior quarterback Sam Nevers. He threw the ball 20 times, totaling 219 yards and three touchdowns.

“When there’s eight in the box, someone’s going to be open down the field,” Nevers said. “We have routes designed for that.”

Highland Park coach Hal Chiodo said he knew that the Giants would have to win the game through the air, not on the ground.

“It’s so hard to play offense against a team that brings every guy on every play,” Chiodo said. “We would not have won if we didn’t throw the ball.”

Waukegan (2-2) struck first late in the first quarter as quarterback Melvin Bobo IV broke four tackles on his way to a 77-yard rushing touchdown that put the Bulldogs up 7-0. That score ended up being Waukegan’s first and last points.

In the second half, turnovers and penalties plagued Waukegan. The Bulldogs put the ball on the ground three times in the third quarter and committed 13 penalties on the night, with nine of those coming in the second half. Highland Park’s offense took advantage, scoring three unanswered touchdowns.

Bobo said that the loss was a matter of “poor execution.”

“We could have done better,” he said. “I’m not disappointed in our guys. We played our hearts out. Sometimes, things just don’t go your way.”

Bobo rushed for 127 yards for the Bulldogs, who totaled 166 yards on the ground. Wide receiver Malik Brown hauled in eight catches for 84 yards.

The Giants continued their trend of turning up the heat in the second half, outscoring Waukegan 21-0 after the break.

“The first half, we weren’t playing very well,” linebacker Aaron Brown said. “During halftime, our coaches really got onto us and lit a spark. We came into the second half ready to play.”

Next Friday night, the Giants will face off against archrival Deerfield (1-3) in a highly anticipated matchup.

“We’re ready to get after it with those guys,” wide receiver Hallvard Lundevall said. “I’ve been waiting for that game for a long time.”