Nunnally's perfect second half gets West win

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AURORA -- After a first half air attack that resembled O'Hare in a thunderstorm, West Aurora quarterback John Nunnally flew the friendly skies in a perfect second half Friday, guiding the Blackhawks (2-0, 0-0) to a 21-13 win over Elgin (1-1, 0-0).

Nunnally completed all seven of his second half attempts, piling up 78 yards and a touchdown after a first half line that wasn't so pretty: 1-for-4 passing for 14 yards and an interception to go along with a pair of fumbles.

"We've got great receivers out there, and they can catch the ball if we block for our quarterback and give him time, and our running game helps open it up," said D.J. Smith. The senior tailback picked up the offense in the first half, with 85 yards on 12 carries, before succumbing to shoulder and knee injuries in a less-productive second.

Fortunately, Nunnally could do little wrong while his leading rusher nursed his knee: Senior wideout Theo Hicks plucked a pair of fades on jumping catches, including one for a touchdown, while his quarterback completed a daring, did-you-see-that jump-throw late in the game.

But if nothing could go wrong for West High's QB as the game waned, it seemed nothing could go right for the visiting Maroons. Tom Kim's team dropped passes--five of them--bungled snaps on a pair of punts and took a pile of penalties in the loss.

"We've got to execute better, especially in clutch moments," the Elgin coach said. "We had quite a few dropped balls, which is not like our guys."

The Maroons actually could have used one more bad snap: With 1:25 left in the third quarter, Elgin punter James Duncan delivered a line drive boot from the cleanest hike of the night, only to watch West's Mike Roggeman rumble 55 yards for a score. With the PAT, the Blackhawks seemed in control of the game at 21-7. But missed opportunities would keep West from blowing the game open.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Blackhawks would fail to convert on first and goal, losing the ball on downs, a fate another West drive would meet when the team failed to convert second-and-1, third-and-3 and fourth-and-1 chances in Elgin territory.

West Aurora 21, Elgin 13