Aurora Central wears down Rockford Lutheran

The game between Aurora Central Catholic and Rockford Lutheran began with both offenses struggling to move the ball at all.

That changed in a big way early in the second quarter as the Chargers began to make big plays. Aurora Central pulled away in the second half behind quarterback Kyle Clechenko and won its season opener 35-20 in front of a content crowd at Bob Stewart Field.

Clechenko, a senior in his first start at quarterback (he played fullback last season), gave the Crusaders fits with his running game. Operating out of a wing formation, Clechenko rushed for 176 yards on 21 carries and a touchdown. There wasn’t much deception to his running. After faking handoffs to his running backs, the 6-1, 200-pounder usually went straight ahead into the teeth of the Rockford Lutheran defense.

“My offensive line was opening holes, and all I had to do was run through them,” Clechenko said. “Our counter plays really set up our whole offense tonight.”

The Crusaders struck first on a 61-yard pass from Jake Milbourn to DJ Johnson late in the first period. But Aurora Central responded with its defense. After Rockford Lutheran lost 16 yards on a penalty and a run stuff, Milbourn was sacked in the end zone by Nick Holzer for a safety.

That play seemed to turn the momentum in the Chargers’ favor. After a 33-yard return of the ensuing punt by Steve Belovich, Clechenko burst through the middle of the line untouched from 34 yards out, giving Aurora Central a 9-7 lead with 9:19 left in the first half.

Milbourn got the lead back for the Crusaders three minutes later on a 14-yard scoring pass to Kyle Vangsness. Then, after an exchange of possessions, Aurora Central took a 16-14 lead 15 seconds before halftime on a 2-yard run by Steven Amoni. Clechenko kept possession on the drive by converting a fourth-and-2 on the ground.

The play of the game happened early in the third quarter. Breaking through the Rockford Lutheran punt block, Brian Bohr smothered the Crusader punt attempt and Patrick Marcoux recovered the ball in the end zone to give the Chargers a 22-14 lead.

While Aurora Central defended the run well (30 rushes for 111 yards for the Crusaders, 88 by Brandon Esparza), Milbourn hurt the Chargers with the occasional pass. He hooked up with Teyvious Montgomery on a slant to pull Rockford Lutheran within 22-20. Kyle Ritli prevented the tying two-point conversion by batting down a Milbourn pass.

Back came the Chargers once again, and Clechenko was once again in the forefront. His 61-yard scamper set up a 5-yard scoring run by Amoni to make the score 28-20 with 3:31 left in the third quarter.

Luke Dickerson provided some breathing room for the Chargers with a tough 4-yard run in the fourth period for the final points. Dickerson, a junior, was all over the field. He ran for 48 yards on seven carries, had a 64-yard kickoff return, returned punts well, and had a pair of pass breakups. Dickerson also put some heat on Milbourn when he dropped back to pass.

“We’ve told Luke that if he gives effort day in and day out, he’s probably the most talented player on our team,” Aurora Central coach Brian Casey said. “He can help us win in a lot of different ways.”

The Chargers were missing cornerback Anthony Andujar, who Casey hopes will be back next week. Casey believes Andujar is the best cover corner in the area.

Aurora Central may have worn down the Crusaders with its new hurry-up offense. It will be something other teams will have to contend with. The Chargers are in a good position with three more home games before venturing on the road.

“I liked our tempo offensively, the way we got to the line quickly,” said Casey, who noted how Rockford Lutheran became tired as the game went on. “I’ve always heard that the greatest improvement is between the first game and the second, so I think we have a lot of positives to take out of this game.”

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