Junior Quarterback Leads Hinsdale Central Past Downers North

captured the Old Oaken Bucket on Senior Night by defeating rival Downers Grove North 23-13 at Harvey Dickinson Field Friday night.

Red Devil senior wide receiver Brad Anlauf said the victory was “a big win” for
his team.

“For us seniors, we didn’t know if this was going to be our last game [at home],”
Anlauf said. “It was really crucial for us to come out and win, not only because this was Senior Night, but it [also] solidified our spot in the playoffs.”

Junior quarterback Brian Owens paced the Red Devil offense, completing 18 of 28 passes for 271 yards and two touchdowns. Anlauf had six catches.

Owens passes for 137 yards and a pair of touchdowns for the Red Devils (6-2, 3-2).

“Brian’s been playing great,” Hinsdale Central head coach Rich Tarka said. “He’s a leader out there; he knows the offense as well as anybody—[including] the coaches.”

Senior running back Anthony Rada anchored the Trojans’ option rushing attack, carrying for 117 yards and one touchdown on 18 attempts.

Senior quarterback Riley McGinnis threw for 100 yards on 8-of-20 passing for Downers North (2-6, 1-4), while rushing for 21 yards as well.

Backed up to their own 11-yard line on their opening possession, the Red Devils
sustained a strong drive, until Owens was intercepted in the end zone by Trojans’ senior defensive back Robert Sheppard late in the first quarter.

Downers North struggled to move the ball in the opening quarter, gaining just 28 yards from scrimmage.

“We got a few first downs [early in the game],” Trojans head coach John Wander
said. “We had a couple of open receivers that we didn’t hit, and had to punt. It was just a see-saw battle early on.”

Hinsdale Central finally broke a scoreless tie midway through the second, when Owens scampered into the end zone from two yards out to make it 7-0.

The Red Devils added another score on a 15-yard touchdown pass from Owens to
Anlauf to take a 13-0 lead with under two minutes remaining in the half.

The Trojans responded immediately, swiftly driving 73 yards to cut the Hinsdale
lead to 13-7 after McGinnis found junior wide receiver Stephen Kanis for a 10-yard touchdown.

Clinging to a six-point lead, Hinsdale looked to chew up clock on its opening
series in the second half.

Red Devils’ senior kicker Alex Georgelos extended the lead to 16-7 when he
nailed a 26-yard field goal to cap off a seven-minute possession.

Early in the fourth, Hinsdale Central put the game out of reach, when Owens found Anlauf on a 37-yard touchdown strike to make it 23-7.

But the Trojans would not go quietly. Rada and Sheppard led Downers on a 79-
yard scoring drive to trim the lead to 10 with seven-and-a-half minutes remaining.

Ultimately, the Hinsdale defense stood strong to preserve a 23-13 victory.

The Red Devils will travel to Elmhurst to square off with York next week, while
the Trojans wrap up their season at home against Glenbard West.

Wander said the vaunted Hilltoppers will pose a difficult test for his Trojans.

“[Glenbard West] is a juggernaut,” he said. “We’re just going to try to play them
for 48 minutes and we’ll see what happens.”