Most of the focus for Hersey opponents has been in the air.

Brandon Jenkins wanted to make sure that people were also looking at the ground.

Jenkins ran for 195 yards on 23 carries and scored three touchdowns as Hersey laid sole claim to the Mid-Suburban East title Friday with a 54-14 win over host Rolling Meadows.

It was the seventh win a row for Hersey (7-2, 5-0) and its first conference title since 2023.

“After last week, the emotional high of that game (a 38-34 win over Prospect), I think our kids came prepared tonight,” Hersey coach Tom Nelson said. “It is not always easy as a high school kid to have that maturity. But that is what team 58 is all about.”

Jenkins and Hersey made sure to put the game away in the first half as the Huskies scored on all four of their possessions.

Running behind Jack Nolan, Spiro Zarafontis, Ben Zebron, Ehren Dammann and Alexander Markovski, Jenkins set the tone early. Jenkins ran for 32 yards on the first play from scrimmage. Four plays later Jake Nawrot connected with Tyler Wentink on a 10-yard touchdown pass to make it 7-0.

“We take pride in running the ball,” Jenkins said. “Our line goes 100% on every single play. We know we have to run the ball first and the passing comes. We love running the ball.”

Rolling Meadows (6-3, 3-2) came right back in its first possession. The Mustangs drove 66 yards in 11 plays with Joe Brigham connecting with Jake Harvey on an 8-yard touchdown pass to knot the game at 7-7.

It was all Hersey from there to close out the half.

Jenkins had a four-yard touchdown run on the final play of the first quarter to make it 14-7. Nawrot connected again with Wentink on a 28-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter and Jenkins tallied again on a two-yard run to make it 27-7 at the half.

Meadows made it interesting when the Mustangs took the second half kickoff. Brigham (12-of-30, 144 yards) tossed a 48-yard touchdown pass to Jack Andersen to cut the deficit to 27-14.

Hersey then put the game away for good.

Cheydon Georgacakis (8 carries, 89 yards) scored just four plays later to make it 34-14. After an interception, Nawrot threw his third touchdown pass on a 9-yard toss to Jackson Wilder.

“This team is so versatile,” said Nawrot, who was 11-of-17 for 157 yards. “Adversity hit last week and we came back from it. Coming off that momentum is huge. We are going to the playoffs right now with a ton on momentum and we are ready to roll.”

Jenkins would then add his third touchdown on a 10-yard run and Levi McEwen threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Grant McKinney.

“I think we have a very good brand of physical football tonight,” Nelson said. “And I think we dominated. It was good to see our kids execute and do the things we talked about.”

Rolling Meadows coach Devonte Amos said that his team will bounce back from this loss.

“I am always proud of our guys and the way we come out here and the way we compete,” Amos said. “Not every day is going to be your best day. I told them at the end of the game that this is sports and that is life in general. But we will be OK and ready for the playoffs next week.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20251024/prep-football/jenkins-hersey-rout-rolling-meadows-to-complete-perfect-msl-east-season/