As students return to school, excitement for sports returns too. However, there was a special night before the first kickoff with it being Senior Night back on August 29th. As all the seniors walked out with their parents, there was a special feel in the air. The return of the school’s football games matched with senior night made everyone buzz with energy and excitement.
Although spirits were high and it was great to see competitive action on the field once again, the Knights fell short on the gridiron as they lost to the Vernon Hills Cougars 17-0.
The Cougars were led by a vicious ground attack as running backs Langston Miller Jr. and Guiseppe Urso racked up more than 200 rushing yards and two scores on the ground.
“We know what went wrong on offense and we will work on it in practice,” Knights senior Matt Bond said after the loss. “Everyone needs to do a better job of staying on their assignment.”
Vernon Hills scored on the first drive of the game and never looked back. The Knights offense, led by sophomore quarterback Jalen Newkirk, had trouble sustaining drives down the field. The Cougars jumped out to a 17-0 lead at halftime. North proceeded to show some promise with occasional sparks from the offense. Senior running back Jacob Sweeney was physical with the ground game, but the Knights couldn’t put points on the board.
“We were happy to see everyone laying their bodies on the line,” senior Ethan Roedl said. “We left it all on the field.”
The Knights also fell short last Friday at Elgin, but the offense was much improved. The GNHS offense put up 26 points but Elgin was too much as the final was 40-26.
Grayslake North (0-2) will host Round Lake (1-1) at 7 p.m., this Friday, for Homecoming.
