Friday began the second round of the IHSA Class 7A playoffs.

Hersey had not advanced beyond the second round since the 1980s.

But senior running back Brandon Jenkins didn’t get that memo.

Jenkins, an Ohio recruit, rambled for 277 yards against top-seeded Richards and a pair of early third quarter touchdowns to waltz the Huskies into the state quarterfinals by virtue of a convincing 42-21 victory.

“All playoffs, our motive has been, build that tsunami, build that wave, build that wall and never let off,” said Jenkins, who rushed 21 times and also played defensive back for the Huskies (9-2).

How dominant was Jenkins? The first time he touched the ball Friday he ran it for 80 yards to set up junior quarterback Jake Nawrot’s 9-yard scoring run.

Jenkins didn’t score on that drive, but that was coming. On the Huskies’ first drive to start the third quarter, he took the ball on a jet sweep left and raced down the Hersey sidelines for a touchdown.

He wasn’t done. After Richards fumbled the ball away on its ensuing possession, Jenkins took the ball at the Hersey 47-yard line and dashed to nearly the same spot in the end zone. That put the Huskies up 28-7, more than enough to make the ride back to Arlington Heights festive.

“We’re just running mid-zone, wide-zone, that’s kind of the core of what we do, and we’ve just got to trust our players in the big moments, what we’ve been practicing since June,” said Hersey coach Tom Nelson of Jenkins’ third quarter heroics. “Just a base play for us, honestly. Great execution.”

Of course, you can’t do what Jenkins does without a lot of blocking help, especially from guys like senior Jack Nolan, a left tackle who’s committed to Central Michigan.

“It’s a pleasure blocking for him,” Nolan said of Jenkins. “We know if we mess up, he’ll make the play.”

Nawrot, the Mid-Suburban East player of the year who possesses offers from Purdue and Northwestern among others, said Jenkins brings an enlightening dimension to the offense.

Those first couple of plays of the third quarter, for example, were vintage Jenkins.

“I’m thinking what we can do to maybe pass and get through them, but when you’ve got a guy like him and an offensive line that is playing their butts off, no one’s stopping him,” Nawrot said. “Once he gets out in the open, it’s going to be (tough) for them. He can just go out and make plays and he’s explosive and brings energy all the time.”

Nawrot went 9-for-14 passing for 109 yards and touchdown passes to senior tight end Jackson Wilder and junior receiver Josh Riggs.

Nawrot said the battle Friday was between the Huskies and Richards, but also the Huskies and history.

“Hersey hasn’t made it past the second round since 1987,” he said. “And we’ve known that all year. It’s kind of been the thing. Hersey can’t make it past the second round.

“And obviously, we’re not satisfied, but it feels good.”

As far as advancing to the quarterfinals, Nolan said it was “surreal.”

“We’ve done that,” he said. “I’ve been on so many teams where this has been the end point, and now, we can do anything. We want state.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20251107/prep-football/jenkins-runs-for-277-yards-leads-hersey-past-no-1-seed-richards-and-into-quarterfinals/