Friday night at Oak Park Stadium was not just the home opener for the Oak Park and River Forest High School football team. It was also Little Huskies Night, an annual event in which OPRF invites the players and coaches in the community’s youth football organization to watch a game. The Little Huskies watched the varsity warm up on the Lake Street Field, then escorted the team across the street to the stadium, going through a human tunnel created by the Marching Huskies, who played the school’s fight song. When they took their seats, they watched the “Big Huskies” roll past Rich Township 39-8.
Liam Smith is already a known commodity for the Oak Park and River Forest High School football team after the senior running back/linebacker made All-Conference the past two seasons. In the season opener Friday night at Oak Park Stadium, Smith teamed up with his classmate, quarterback Liam Brown, to help the Huskies roll past Rich Township 39-8.
“It feels amazing. I’m really happy with what the boys did tonight,” said Smith, who finished with 81 yards on 13 carries and two touchdowns.
Brown completed 11 of his 16 passes for 151 yards and a touchdown, and added another score on the ground.
“It was awesome. It was a great crowd and we had a lot of energy. It was a great team win,” he said.
OPRF (1-0) won the coin toss and elected to start on offense. The decision proved beneficial as the Huskies marched 66 yards over 11 plays for the season’s first touchdown, a four-yard keeper by Brown. Max Smith’s point-after gave OPRF a 7-0 lead at the 7:56 mark of the opening quarter.
After the defense got a three-and-out on Rich’s first possession, the offense went back to work. OPRF moved 47 yards on nine plays, with Smith going in from 9 yards out. He had picked up a first down the previous play on 4th and 3 from the Rich 14 with a 5-yard run out of the Wildcat formation.
“Pedal to the metal. We had to get out here fast, we had to score,” said Brown of the Huskies’ fast start.
Rich (0-1) threatened to get back into the game as Ortez Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff from his 7 to the OPRF 35. The Raptors got the ball down to the Huskies’ 2 early in the second quarter, but on 4th and goal, Johnson was stopped a yard short of the end zone, creating a turnover on downs.
“The defense was outstanding. I was really proud of how they played,” said OPRF coach John Hoerster. “They had a great goal-line stand where we really needed to lean on them and they stepped up to the occasion.”
With 4:23 left in the half, Rich opted to go for it on 4th and 1 from midfield. But again the defense came up big as Connor Krumrei forced Johnson to fumble and Emile Williams recovered for the Huskies at his 48. Then Brown found Andrew Heinzmann (2 receptions, 55 yards) breaking free over the middle and hit him for a 45-yard gain to the Raptors’ 7. On the next play, Smith powered up the middle for a 7-yard score.
Following another three-and-out defensively, a short Rich punt gifted OPRF excellent field position on the Raptors’ 34. It took just four plays for the Huskies to cash in as Brown found a wide-open Labrone Neal for a 14-yard score and a commanding 27-0 lead going into halftime.
“Brownie had so much confidence and was the leader of our offense tonight,” Smith said. “He did a good job of getting the guys together and his passes were great. I’m really proud of him.”
Norlan Davis’ 2-yard touchdown run with 7:26 remaining in the third quarter raised OPRF’s lead to 33-0. In the fourth quarter, Markel Morris scored from four yards out, then Johnson added a two-point conversion to get Rich on the board with 9:36 remaining.
Brendan Fox concluded the night’s scoring in style as he intercepted a tipped pass from Rich quarterback Toron Jones and sped 87 yards to the house for a pick-six with :18 left.
Williams led the Huskies defensively with 4.5 tackles. Aidan Aleman and Javion Davis each had four tackles, Chris Nash 3.5 tackles, and Neal and Connor Ganschow three apiece. Fox recorded a sack while Williams and Ben Lambe combined for another.
Next up for OPRF is the annual East Avenue Showdown versus Fenwick, a 28-13 winner at Joliet Catholic Friday. Game time is 6 p.m., Aug. 28, at Oak Park Stadium.
A packed house is expected as the Huskies are eager to take on the defending Class 6A state champion Friars. While Brown and Smith both appreciated the Dog Pound’s enthusiasm against Rich, they’re counting on them to crank up the noise this week.
“The fans are just as important as we are,” Brown said. “They’ve gotta bring the energy; if they do, we do. Energy’s contagious.”
“I’m super-excited,” Smith added. “We’ve got our fans here and we’ll be ready.”