Hinsdale Central tops Downers North

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The Hinsdale Central football team used big scoring plays on four straight second-half possessions to turn a tight contest into a 34-6 rout of host Downers Grove North Friday in a West Suburban Conference Silver Division game.

The Red Devils rushed for two scores and passed for two more, all on plays that were longer than 31 yards, to turn what was a slim 6-0 lead into the convincing win, their fifth straight after a season-opening overtime loss to Wheaton Warrenville South.

The offensive light switch turned on for Hinsdale Central (5-1, 3-0 in Silver) when quarterback John Whitelaw connected with Mick Culligan for a 95-yard scoring strike on the Red Devils' first offensive play of the second half.

Whitelaw (14 of 22, 282 yards) had three TD passes on the night, including a first-quarter toss to Alex Kirk and a 41-yarder to Culligan on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Rich Zajeski led Hinsdale Central in rushing with 117 yards on six carries, adding a 65-yard TD run that pushed the lead to 20-0 after a Garrett Kawa extra-point kick. Whitelaw added a 31-yard scoring dash with just over eight minutes to play. 

Defensively, the Red Devils did not allow any passing yards and seized the game’s momentum on the first series of the third quarter, when they did not allow the Trojans (3-3, 2-1) to gain a yard on three straight downs that would have given Downers North a first-and-goal inside the Hinsdale 5-yard line.