The Oak Park and River Forest High School football team remained unbeaten Friday night but potentially at what cost?
The Huskies defeated host York 21-6 in Elmhurst, however, three starters- quarterback Jeremy Hunt, running back Jamarri Watson and offensive lineman James Cousin were injured. According to multiple sources, Hunt’s ankle injury is feared to be the worst, while the Watson (knee) and Cousin (shoulder) injuries appear less severe. Regardless of how these situations play out, the timing is not ideal with the Huskies’ three toughest conference games remaining the rest of October.
“We’re still gathering information (about injuries),” OPRF coach John Hoerster wrote in an e-mail. “We will know more Friday night.”
Fortunately, reserve quarterback Keegan Smith has a history of success (he led the sophomore team to an undefeated season in 2013) if he’s called on to replace Hunt. Junior Pete O’Connell is another quarterback on the team.
The team’s improved depth and chemistry will also help in dealing with any kind of adversity. Simply put, it’s a next man up mentality if anybody happens to be out of the lineup.
Plus, OPRF (6-0, 3-0) is still undefeated, trails Glenbard West (6-0, 4-0) by a half-game in the West Suburban Silver standings, and has lofty ambitions for the rest of the regular season and the state playoffs. At this point in the season, the Huskies are exactly where they want to be in terms of both the conference race and postseason outlook.
Against York, the Huskies struggled offensively but cashed in enough scoring opportunities to spoil the Dukes’ bid for an upset. On the other side of the ball, the defense turned in another dominant performance. With the exception of an occasional scoring drive by the opposition, OPRF’s first unit defense has essentially shut down ever team its faced.
Senior running back Antonio Cannon gave OPRF a 7-0 lead against York with .03 seconds left until halftime. The Huskies tacked on two TDs in the third quarter to build a 21-0 advantage. Senior defensive end Allen Stallings recovered a blocked punt in the end zone to put the Huskies up 14-0 at the 10-minute mark. Hunt added a 10-yard scamper into the end zone with 4:55 left in the third quarter.
The Dukes scored their only TD on a 2-yard run with 8:55 left in the game.
Cannon ran for 102 yards on 18 carries, while Hunt completed 8 of 18 passes for 79 yards and also rushed 11 times for 53 yards. Davion Talbert (2 catches, 39 yards) and Jared Scott (2 catches, 20 yards) also contributed.
OPRF junior safety Rolliann Sturkey tallied a team-high 5.5 tackles. Linebackers Evan Bell and Breshawn Wilkerson each had 4.5 tackles and combined for three sacks. Ryan Molina (4 tackles), Jahmari Moore (3.5 tackles), Connor Nelson and Stallings also played well for the defense, which held the Dukes to just 68 yards of total offense on 45 plays and seven first downs.
“Our defense and special teams were outstanding,” Hoerster said. “The offense needs to improve. We had way too many three-and-outs.”
OPRF hosts Glenbard West on Friday, Oct. 9 at 7:30 p.m. The Huskies and Hilltoppers have developed arguably the best rivalry in the conference in recent seasons.
Although it’s a a scintillating matchup between the West Suburban Silver’s only two remaining unbeaten teams, the Huskies wisely aren’t getting too caught up in the hype. Perhaps it’s a lesson learned from last year when OPRF lost to Glenbard West 28-14 in Glen Ellyn en route to a disappointing 2-3 record down the second half of the season.
“We are going to prepare for our Week 7 opponent just like we’ve prepared for the previous 6,” Hoerster said. “We are going to emphasize getting better every day at practice. When Friday night eventually arrives, we are going to give our best effort to compete against whomever gets off the bus.
“It’s important that we focus on us, and what we need to do to become a better team, and less on who happens to step on the field against us.”