Downers Grove South senior Daniel Mensah might have picked up a promotion on Friday night.

After playing linebacker last season, Mensah was thrown into the mix at running back this season.

He won the job on Friday against Willowbrook in a key West Suburban Conference Gold Division game on Homecoming.

Mensah scored four touchdowns to spark Downers Grove South to a 35-23 victory in front of a packed crowd.

With the halftime spanning 30-plus minutes, including a 7-minute fireworks show, Mensah took center stage in the final two quarters. He scored three 1-yard TD runs in the second half, along with a 6-yard scoring run in the second quarter, to power Downers Grove South’s offensive attack.

The Mustangs (1-3, 1-1) opened the season with three straight losses before finally relying on a solid defensive effort and a diversified offense. Willowbrook (1-3, 1-1) lost control of the game in the second quarter, allowing 14 points to let the home team grab the momentum.

But Mensah’s strong running wore down Willowbrook.

“I just give it my all,” Mensah said. “It feels great. I thank my coaches for trusting me and putting the ball in my hands in a crucial moment. Last year I played inside linebacker, but also some running back but I’m definitely getting the ball more this year. I’m just fighting and trying to break tackles and help my team.”

Downers Grove South coach Mark Molinari said the coaching staff wanted to incorporate the sturdy and powerful 5-foot-10, 205-pound Mensah more into the offense after losing a game last week to Addison Trail due to falling short on a fourth-down play in the final seconds.

“After last week not getting our first down, we were thinking about it all week,” Molinari said. “We came up just six inches short on fourth down and we lost the game with one second to go on a field goal. It was a tough game. I’ve been rotating some running backs in and I thought our offensive line played really well tonight.”

Downers Grove South sophomore Jake Mytys had the game-turning play, when he blocked a punt with 7:48 left in the game and his team clinging to a 21-17 lead. One play later, Mensah burst through the middle for a 1-yard TD run to cap the short drive and push the lead to 28-17.

“That was unexpected,” Mytys said. “I used one of my moves I learned a while ago and came off the edge and was right there for the block. It felt great, to come back from bad drives and help the team.”

Willowbrook had some positives in the loss, scoring the first points of the game to take a 7-0 lead. Quarterback Jahonise Reed showed off a live arm and fast legs, leading a 97-yard drive that ended with a 6-yard TD pass to Otis Powell to cut the margin to 28-23 with 5:36 remaining.

But Mensah jumped back into action, scoring another 1-yard TD to put the game out of reach. Downers Grove South’s defense racked up five sacks, and Cooper Schoenike had an interception.

“We never got into any type of consistency getting stops,” Willowbrook coach Nick Hildreth said. “We got lucky they didn’t connect on some deep passes early. Offensively, we were super inconsistent. Our quarterback has a really good arm and a high football IQ.”