Both Hersey and Maine West were coming off a tough defeat the previous week heading into their Friday evening nonconference tilt in Des Plaines.

In addition to their loss to Barrington, Tom Nelson’s Huskies had dropped their season-opener to Warren to start their season at 0-2. George Klupchak’s Warriors were coming a humbling loss to Wauconda in their home opener last week after a season-opening road win at Elk Grove.

From the opening drive by the visitors from Arlington Heights, there was no doubt as who was prepared for their gridiron exam. Hersey scored the first six times it had possession of the football en route to a 48-0 victory in week one of the two-week crossover series of games between members of the Mid and Central Suburban Leagues.

“We talk about consistent improvement (and) daily deposits and it’s nice to see it pay off for the kids. That’s for sure,” Nelson said.

“We try to get better everyday (so) we can play our best football at the end of the season.”

Senior Ohio University commit Brandon Jenkins got things going for the Huskies (1-2) with two carries totaling 67 yards. The second, a 65-yard jaunt, placed them at the Warriors 1-yard line where QB Jake Nawrot scored on the following play for a 7-0 lead just 69 ticks in.

From there, Nawrot (7 of 10, 156 yards) commanded the Hersey attack with skilled artistry as he engineered successive scoring drives that he finished with three TD tosses. The first went to Jackson Wilder (14 yards) that made it 14-0 with 2:15 left in the opening stanza.

He next added a 2-yard toss to Josh Riggs with 4:21 left in the second to make it 21-0 after which he threw a 56-yard rainbow to Austin Schultz at the 2:09 mark of the second to pad their lead to 28-0.

Jenkins (6 carries, 163 yards) completed the half by scoring from 9 yards out with 77 seconds left for a 35-0 Hersey advantage. The Huskies outgained the hosts 286-111 in the first 24 minutes of play.

Jenkins then scored on a 45-yard run with 8:50 left in the third to make it 42-0 and get the running clock started. Sophomore fullback Jackson Travis closed out the scoring with a 33-yard run with 18 seconds left as Maine West (1-2) dropped its second straight game.

“Our coaches have been preaching all week (about) just executing and playing with some discipline,“ Nawrot said. ”It’s a shutout and a great way to do it. Our guys, they worked their tails off. I’m super blessed to be with these guys as well as our coaches.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20250912/prep-football/hersey-dominates-maine-west-for-first-victory/