Halfway through the third quarter, Hinsdale Central clung to an eight-point lead against South Elgin. After a dropped pass on fourth down, the Storm had the ball in Hinsdale Central territory with a chance to tie.

South Elgin went three and out, the Red Devils blocked the punt and proceeded to score 28 unanswered points en route to a 45-15 victory in the first round of the Class 8A football playoffs in South Elgin.

Quarterback Riley Contreras ran for three touchdowns and passed for another. The Red Devils also scored touchdowns on defense and special teams, and Micah Drescher kicked a 32-yard field goal.

The loss obscured a great night by South Elgin tailback Darrion Thurman, who carried 27 times for 150 yards. He also caught three passes for 50 yards and a touchdown.

Following the blocked punt, Hinsdale Central drove 39 yards in just four plays, with Contreras scoring from 16 yards out. The Red Devils then recovered an onside kick and needed just five plays to score again, as Contreras found a wide-open Patrick Connors for a 34-yard catch-and-run.

“We just knew we had to get a big stop and then come back and drive it down their throats on offense,” Contreras said.

Hinsdale Central delivered a complete performance.

“They did stuff offensively and defensively they haven’t done all year,” said Hinsdale Central coach Brian Griffin. “Even when we got to the point where they stopped us on fourth down, we dropped the ball and they had the momentum, we challenged our kids to step up. And that’s what I’m most proud of. When we needed a stop, we blocked the punt, got the ball back, scored, then went and got the onside and scored. That momentum, I think, carried us. We were waiting to pounce, it took a little while to warm up, and they got after it.”

The 19th-seeded Red Devils established themselves quickly when Dominic Tresslar returned the opening kickoff for a touchdown. South Elgin fumbled on its opening drive and the visitors capitalized with Contreras’ first TD to make it 14-0 less than four minutes in.

“This is the first game the offense, defense and special teams really put it together for four quarters,” Contreras said. “And that just shows us how dangerous as a group we can be.”

The defense also contributed, with Charles Novatney delivering a pick-six to help ice the game in the fourth quarter.

Contreras threw for 124 yards and ran for 90 more. Tresslar added another 40 yards on the ground.

Gavin Mueller scored the Storm’s first touchdown on a 1-yard run. Danny Traver connected with Thurman on a 33-yard scoring pass late in the game.