CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (AP) — The Illinois High School Association state championship football games wrapped up for Classes 5A-8A at Memorial Stadium on Saturday night.Class 8A: Maine South 41, Hinsdale Central 21
Vanderbilt-bound quarterback Charlie Goro ran for 164 yards on 25 carries in a 41-21 victory over Hinsdale Central, leading Maine South to the IHSA Class 8A state football championship.
Maine South finished 14-0 and won its third state football title. Goro threw for 132 yards and running back Matt Perez ran for 119 yards and scored three times.
“Everyone knows we’re a passing team but we took what they gave us,” said Goro, who went into the game with more than 3,000 passing yards.
“My hat is off to our coaching staff for this game plan,” Hawks coach David Inserra said. “But it comes down to the boys making the plays and they were phenomenal tonight.”
Hinsdale Central (11-3) was led by junior quarterback John Whitelaw, who was 17-of-29 for 262 yards and two touchdowns in the air and ran for 139 yards and another touchdown.
Alex Kirk nabbed nine passes for 140 yards and two touchdowns.
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Class 7A: East St. Louis 33, Geneva 14
East St. Louis trailed 7-6 at halftime but quarterback Detchauz Wray hit wide receivers Terry Hawthorne and Kraig Appleton for touchdowns to lead the Flyers past Geneva 33-14 to win the IHSA Class 7A title Saturday.
It’s the seventh state championship for the Flyers (13-1) and first since 1991.
Wray hit Hawthorne with a 10-yard pass with 8:31 left in the third quarter and Appleton with a 42-yard strike with 10:34 left in the fourth. Both have been invited to All-America games and Hawthorne signed to play for the University of Illinois.
Wray, a junior, was 10-of-20 for 198 yards and four touchdowns.
The Flyers were whistled for a state final game-record 19 penalties for 166 yards.
Geneva (13-1) running back Michael Ratay entered the game with 2,764 yards and a state record-tying 45 touchdowns. But he was held to 91 yards on 26 carries although he caught six passes for 58 yards and nabbed a touchdown pass from Brandon Beitzel.
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Class 6A: Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin 37, Lemont 15
Springfield Sacred Heart-Griffin overwhelmed Lemont, 37-15 in Class 6A on Saturday in the only battle between No. 1 seeds in the IHSA state football championships.
Senior Gary Wilson ran 19 times for 122 yards and three touchdowns to help the Cyclones (13-1) win their third state championship in four seasons. Quarterback Tom Dondanville was 12-of-22 for 187 yards and two touchdowns.
The Cyclones had 353 yards and scored 37 points against the Indians, which came into the game giving up 8.3 points and 130.2 yards per game.
This was Lemont’s second straight trip to the state championship game.
Last year, the Indians dropped a 49-7 game to Joliet Catholic. Lemont’s Danny Hayes had 18 carries for 76 yards after entering the game with 1,810 yards in his first 13 games.
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Class 5A: Wheaton St. Francis 49, Metamora 35
Wheaton St. Francis became the second Suburban Catholic Conference IHSA football champion over the weekend when Mark Kachmer and Stan Bowbowski each ran for three touchdowns in a 49-35 victory over defending champion Metamora in the Class 5A title game Saturday at Memorial Stadium.
St. Francis (13-1) set a 5A title-game record for most points in a game and the two teams combined for most points in a 5A title game.
Bobowski had 21 carries for 125 yards and Kachmer added 124 yards on 12 carries as the Spartans racked up 441 yards of offense.
Receiver Brett Robinson caught a 70-yard pass from Jeff Reckards with 3:23 left in the third to put the Spartans ahead, 28-21.
Earlier this weekend, Immaculate Conception of the Suburban Catholic Conference won the Class 2A title.
Metamora (13-1) had a 27-game winning streak snapped. Michael Fay led the Redbirds with 130 yards on 25 carries while Aaron Peters added 109 yards on 24 carries.
