Four Downs: News and notes from Week 1 in high school football

The special season St. Rita had planned hit a major roadblock just five minutes into Friday’s game against rival Mount Carmel.

Star senior Kaleb Brown was injured in the first quarter of the 16-9 loss to the Caravan. Brown went up for a pass near the sideline, was hit in the leg and never returned to the game.

There is no word yet on how long the Ohio State recruit might be out.

“Good thing it is Week 1,” Mustangs coach Todd Kuska said. “It’s not the end of the world, not a broken leg or anything. Anytime you lose a guy like that it sends little shockwaves through the team.”

Warren’s dominant defense

Warren, the new top-ranked team, went on the road and beat Barrington 19-0. The Blue Devils limited the Broncos to -3 total yards. Barrington just completed 1 of 11 passes, a four-yard grab.

Vanderbilt recruit Maurice Edwards ran for 192 yards on 19 carries. Pretty much everything went according to plan for Warren in Week 1. Now comes what will likely be the biggest test of the regular season.

The Blue Devils host No. 11 Maine South, one of the area’s consistently excellent programs, on Friday. The Hawks beat Stevenson 41-20 in Week 1.

Streak breakers

Wheeling, which had lost 19 consecutive games, beat Round Lake 27-15 on Friday.

First-year coach Peter Panagakis took over the team three weeks ago. The program had just 17 players at that point. The roster bloomed to 40 once school began.

“With all the people in the stands the atmosphere was like a playoff football game,” Panagakis said. “Everybody missed football. The students rushed the field. You would have thought we won the state championship.”

Emerging quarterbacks

St. Charles North didn’t crack the preseason rankings, but the North Stars are already back in the mix after dominating Palatine 24-0 on Friday.

St. Charles North pulled off the win with freshman quarterback Ethan Plumb at the helm. The 6-3, 195-pounder threw for 135 yards and rushed for 20 in his debut.

Plumb wasn’t the only new quarterback that opened eyes in Week 1. Bolingbrook, another team that didn’t crack the preseason Super 25, scored 52 points in a road win at Minooka.

Senior quarterback Bobby Ervin was 10-for-11 passing, threw for a touchdown and had 220 rushing yards and four touchdowns.