Woodstock North’s football team made a change at quarterback last week.

The Thunder went back to veteran Parker Halihan on Friday night for their Kishwaukee River Conference showdown at Johnsburg, and the senior played like he has no intentions of relinquishing the starting role again.

Halihan rushed for 170 yards and all four of North’s touchdowns, as the Thunder spoiled the Skyhawks’ homecoming with a 27-13 win.

“We like Parker when he’s playing quarterback,” said coach Jeremiah Homuth, whose Thunder (3-2, 2-1) have won two in a row for the first time this season. “We like to get him on the field. When he’s on the field, good things happen.”

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Braelan Creighton started at QB against visiting Plano last week and helped the Thunder pull out a 14-7 win. The 6-foot, 185-pound Halihan, who opened the season under center, played wingback. Against Johnsburg (3-2, 1-2), Halihan scored from 6 yards out three plays after Adan Castaneda returned a kickoff 64 yards to set the visitors up at the Johnsburg 25.

Halihan, who ran North’s triple-option offense to near perfection, added TD runs of 54, 16, and 1 yards. He also didn’t commit a turnover.

The Thunder scored 27 unanswered points after the Skyhawks grabbed a 6-0 lead on their first series of the game, with Carter Block capping a 12-play drive with a 4-yard TD toss to Ryan Franze in the right corner of the end zone.

“It was best for him to be at quarterback this week, and he played great,” Thunder fullback-defensive end David Randecker said of Halihan. “He did amazing.”

Halihan busted off his 54-yard TD on third-and-3, breaking clear to lengthen North’s lead to 14-6 with 25 seconds left in the first quarter. The Thunder held that advantage until Halihan faked a handoff and ran into the end zone on third-and-12 from the Johnsburg 16 with 2:53 left in the third. Halihan got a pancake block from offensive lineman Landon Rice on the play.

“I just read my reads and hope for the best,” Halihan said after carrying the ball 27 times. “As long as I make the correct read, I know it will play out if everyone blocks.”

North’s offensive line of Rice, Lincoln Buening, Ian Slepcevich, Alan Vallin and Julian Segura, along with tight end Brady Rogers, dominated most of the night. They helped Halihan and Randecker (18 carries, 95 yards) combine for 265 rushing yards (5.9 per carry).

“My O-line loves to play to the whistle,” Halihan said. “They really try out there, so I’m grateful for that.”

North was equally impressive on defense. Randecker recovered a fumble early in the second quarter, Creighton intercepted a pass at midfield late in the first half, and safety Braeden Berner intercepted Block at the North 5 on the final play of the third, with Johnsburg chasing a 21-6 deficit.

“I like our defense,” Homuth said. “I like our kids. We got a lot of good athletes, and all credit goes to them. They played well.”

North’s defense had allowed only 21 points in its past two games. Johnsburg got its final touchdown with eight seconds left in the game when Block hit Jarrel Albea from 16 yards out.

“We’ve been able to stop the run, but we’ve struggled against the pass a little,” Randecker said. “We did really well today.”

Block finished 20-of-33 passing for 174 yards. Franze had seven receptions for 58 yards, and Albea added four catches for 47 yards. Seven Skyhawks caught a pass. Running back Duke Mays rushed 12 times for 58 yards.

“We weren’t consistent enough,” Johnsburg coach Sam Lesniak said. “We had a couple of bad holding calls. We had the ball moving, but then we shot ourselves in the foot, and it derailed us. It’s tough when we’re playing 10 yards behind the sticks.”