Knights dominate North East for first win of season

Were it not for a few mistakes in the red zone, Eisenhower likely would have picked up its first win of the season last week at Northwestern.

Coach Jim Penley attributed those mistakes to his players trying too hard to make a play and earn that victory.

The Knights (1-3, 1-1) were "more relaxed" this week, and it showed as they ground North East (1-3, 0-2) into submission with a 47-3 home win Friday.

"(The players) are intense and want to win badly," Penley said. "Tonight they were relaxed as a crew."

That relaxation didn't show early as Jaydon Hayes fumbled on Eisenhower's first play from scrimmage, giving North East the ball at the Knights 25. The Grapepickers returned the favor on the next play as quarterback Alex Furmanek and running back Josh Lundborg bobbled the handoff and put the ball on the ground. The Knights pounced on the loose ball and regained possession at their own 27.

Eisenhower wasn't able to take advantage of the turnover, as a 10-play drive ended in a punt from the North East 45. The Knights forced a three-and-out and took over at the Grapepickers 43.

The Knights opened the next series with a counter to Jonah Samuelson. The speedy running back took the handoff, juked to the inside, then popped back out to the left sideline where he sprinted past the defense for a 43-yard touchdown run to put Eisenhower up 7-0 with 3:16 to play in the first quarter.

"The line did a phenomenal job," Samuelson said. "I saw the hole right there (on the outside)."

The Eisenhower defense again forced a three-and-out giving the offense the ball back on its own 25. Two plays later, Samuelson again got the ball on a counter, made the same juke inside, then raced down the left sideline for a 53-yard score.

"When I see that pylon (in the open field), I know it's go time," he said.

The extra point missed, but the Knights had a 13-0 lead with 12 seconds to play in the first quarter. Eisenhower nearly got the ball back as an attempted onside kick appeared to be recovered by Eisenhower. Following a brief discussion, the officials ruled the North East player had possesion and was down before the ball came loose.

Just beyond the midpoint of the second quarter, the Knights took over on their own 25. They ran the ball four times before quarterback Spencer Head threw a pass to Hayes in the right flat. Hayes made a one-handed grab on the play and picked up 13 yards to set Eisenhower up at the North East 37. Head kept the ball himself on the next play and scampered 19 more yards to put the Knights in the red zone for the first time. There were no mental miscues as Eisenhower needed only three plays for Hayes to punch in a 3-yard score and give the Knights a 20-0 lead with just under two minutes to go in the half.

"Our offensive line was great," Penley said. "We did more of the isos and straightforward runs and they did a great job getting off the ball."

North East took over with 1:46 to go and put together an 11-play drive that ended with a Nathan Briselden 30-yard field goal to make it 20-3 at the half.

Head was one block away from returning the second half kickoff for a touchdown, but still took the ball across midfield to give the Knights possession in Grapepicker territory. Two plays later, Ethan Chambers rumbled his way up the middle for a 24-yard touchdown and a 27-3 advantage just 1:08 into the third quarter.

"All the running backs got involved tonight," Penley said.

North East drove down to the Eisenhower 19 on the ensuing possession. Furmanek found Lucas Russell on the left side, but Russell lost the ball as he turned upfield and the Knights pounced on it to take over.

"They got some plays, but we were able to make some plays with turnovers," Penley said.

The Knights methodically drove down the field, going 82 yards on 12 plays before Samuelson ran around the left end for 15 yards and his third score of the night. The extra point was blocked, but Eisenhower had a 33-3 lead with 1:25 to go in the third quarter.

North East threatened again on the next possession after a 27-yard pass from Furmanek to Russell got the Grapepickers down near the red zone. Two plays later, Lundborg was unable to secure the handoff and David Tower fell on the ball to give the Knights possession.

"We really work on creating turnovers, especially during camp," Penley said.

Hayes eluded a pair of defenders and broke a would-be tackle before sprinting 64 yards to put the Knights right back in the red zone at the North East 18 on the next play. Chambers punched it in two plays later from six yards out to make it 40-3 with just under nine minutes to play.

Jeremy Card recovered a Furmanek fumble on the Grapepickers next possession, and Garrett Head followed-up a 30-yard gainer with a 2-yard touchdown run to close out the scoring.

Penley said before the game that the Knights were a "running team." They showed that against North East as Eisenhower rushed for 427 yards on 43 carries while limiting a potent Grapepicker ground attack to just 168 yards on 43 carries.

Samuelson rushed seven times for 155 yards and three touchdowns, while Hayes added 149 yards and a score on 11 carries. Spencer Head was 4-5 for 34 yards with Hayes reeling in all four receptions.

The Knights will face a tough challenge again next week as they travel to Iroquois to take on the defending region champs.

"Iroquois is an outstanding program," Penley said. "It's been a great rivalry between the two schools. In the 13 games I've coached, there have only been two blowouts. We've just got to keep improving and play a complete game against them."

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Score by quarters

North East 0 3 0 0 – 3

Eisenhower 13 7 13 14 – 47

Scoring summary

1st

3:16 E-Jonah Samuelson 43 run (Ross Venman kick)

0:12 E-Samuelson 53 run (Venman kick missed)

2nd

1:54 E-Jaydon Hayes 3 run (Venman kick)

0:04 N-Nathan Briselden 30 field goal

3rd

10:39 E-Ethan Chambers 24 run (Venman kick)

1:25 E-Samuelson 15 run (Venman kick blocked)

4th

8:59 E-Chambers 6 run (Venman kick)

4:19 E-Garrett Head 2 run (Venman kick)

Team statistics

Rushing: North East 43-168, Eisenhower 43-427 7TD. Passing: North East 5-9, 87; Eisenhower 4-5, 34. Receiving: North East 5-87, Eisenhower 4-34.

Individual statistics

Rushing: North East-Alex Furmanek 15-88, Josh Lundborg 14-45, Dylan Muscarella 7-22, Lucas Russell 5-10, Dylan Sayers 2-3; Eisenhower-Jonah Samuelson 7-155 3TD, Jaydon Hayes 11-149 TD, Ethan Chambers 11-64 2 TD, Garrett Head 4-45 TD, Spencer Head 9-14, Owen Trumball 1-0. Passing: North East-Furmanek 5-9, 87; Eisenhower-S. Head 4-5, 34. Receiving: North East-Russell 4-62, Muscarella 1-15; Eisenhower-Hayes 4-34.