By Dan McGrath
Zero-and-five ain’t pretty, but it’s reality for the Leo Lions after they traveled to St. Laurence Friday night and got smoked.
The Vikings are the state’s top-ranked team in Class 4-A and they looked the part of a state title contender while burying the Lions 42-0, dominating every phase of the game.
A Senior Night capacity crowd in Burbank saw what Illinois State saw in quarterback Chase Kwiatkowski—the Redbird recruit completed six of nine passes for 190 yards and two touchdowns.
But Vikings tailback Cory Les was the story of the evening. Patient, powerful and deceptively fast, the 205-pound junior piled up 119 yards on just 13 carries and scored four touchdowns, on runs of 10, 10, 13 and 10 yards.
Les added a fifth score by hauling a Kwiatkowski screen pass 67 yards for a 42-0 lead on St. Laurence’s first possession of the second half. A running clock kicked in at that point, or it might have been worse.
Kwiatkowski connected with slippery Aiden Ginn for a 44-yard touchdown to open the scoring three minutes into the game. Leo not only went three-and-out on its first possession, it had a punt blocked, setting up the first of Les’ touchdowns, and the rout was on.
The fast-and-physical Vikings were just as impressive defensively, limiting Leo tailback Javon Logan to 35 yards on nine carries. Quarterback Derrick Davis ran for 41 yards and passed for 70, but the Lions never really threatened the end zone, their best drive dying at St. Laurence’s 16-yard line.
The hosts also prevailed in the preliminary game, overcoming an 18-7 second-half deficit to win 24-18. Freshman Kam Mosley scored two touchdowns for the Lions (2-3), one on an 80-yard run.
Next up for Leo: a Homecoming date with Noble Academy at St. Rita on Saturday, Oct. 5. Kickoff is at 1 p.m. The Lions were scheduled to face De La Salle for Homecoming, but a shortage of players has forced the Meteors to suspend their season.