Downers Grove North junior Kevin Jay Jr’s. main job is playing running back.

On Friday night, in a Week 2 rivalry showdown in front of a sold-out, overflow crowd at rival Downers Grove South, Jay was unexpectedly given a different assignment midway through the first quarter – quarterback.

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Downers Grove North at Downers Grove South Downers Grove North's Maxwell Troha (5) celebrates a touchdown catch and run with Oliver Thulin (10) during football game between Downers Grove North at Downers Grove South Friday, Sept 5, 2025 in Downers Grove. (Gary E Duncan Sr. for Shaw Local)

With star quarterback Owen Lansu, a Minnesota recruit, leading the offense to a quick three-touchdown lead, Jay got his turn to play quarterback.

The elusive Jay, who wears jersey No. 27, showed off his legs and his right arm, running for three touchdowns and passing for a score to lead the Trojans to a 55-13 running-clock victory over the Mustangs.

The Trojans (2-0) finished with 450 yards of total offense, intercepted a pass and recorded a sack in a dominating performance to extend their series dominance over the Mustangs (0-2). Downers Grove North has won the last 11 meetings against Downers Grove South.

“It was very fun to play quarterback,” Jay said. “I came into high school playing quarterback and got moved up my freshman year to play running back. It was very nice going back to my roots. It was very fun to show people that I’m very versatile and can play running back and quarterback. I practiced hard for this game.

“We got a great offensive line and coaching staff and everybody stepped up and we all played better to get the victory.”

Downers Grove North coach Joe Horeni didn’t comment about Lansu, though he noted the strong play by Jay in the victory.

“He didn’t play varsity football last year,” Horeni said. “He came up in the playoffs. He’s a great kid, does a good job at running back. Growing up, he played quarterback, so that’s a positive skill set and beneficial. He did a great job for us. The run at the end of the half was awesome.

“I was happy with our guys. I’m proud of our kids. They responded after a tough game against Morgan Park. It was nice to get a win.”

Playing just over half a quarter, Lansu wasted little time showing last week’s performance was an aberration. He scored on a 3-yard touchdown run on the first drive, tossed an 18-yard TD strike to Joey Serpico on the first play of the second drive and then lofted a perfectly placed 74-yard TD bomb to a streaking Max Troha for a 20-0 lead with 6:33 left in the opening quarter.

Lansu, a three-year starter who led the Trojans to the Class 7A state title game in his sophomore season, left the game and did not return after suffering a hard hit following a short run to the 1-yard line midway through the first quarter.

Then it was Jay’s turn to dissect Downers Grove South’s defense. Jay, the Trojans’ Wildcat quarterback, got a rare chance to show off his strong arm.

Jay made the play of the game, scoring a TD on a 16-yard run on the final play of the first half. Jay glanced around in the secondary, moving around in the pocket before electing to run for the end zone. He weaved his way through traffic, finding the end zone to start the running clock for a 48-7 lead.

The Mustangs did have a few highlights in the blowout loss. Senior Antoine Harden returned a kickoff 64 yards in the first quarter to set up a touchdown.

Sophomore quarterback James Sobkowiak, who threw for 121 yards, tossed a perfect touch 19-yard TD pass in the back of the end zone to Aidan Kanazawa late in the first quarter. Sobkowiak’s pass floated over two defenders to cut the deficit to 27-7.

Downers Grove South backup quarterback Vincent Junkas added a late touchdown with 3:36 for the final score of the game. The Mustangs’ offense suffered a major blow when Hardin left the game early in the second quarter and did not return.

“We didn’t do a very good job of getting off the blocks and they are a very good football team and we struggled little bit defensively, but credit to them for coming out and being ready,” Downers South coach Mark Molinari said.

[ Photo store: Downers Grove North vs. Downers Grove South football ]