Menken's poise paying off for South Elgin

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South Elgin junior John Menken continues to develop into one of the most effective quarterbacks in the area.

Menken's poise helped lift the Storm to a 17-14 victory against Bartlett on Friday at Millennium Field. With his team trailing 14-9 with just over six minutes left, Menken engineered a 14-play, 66-yard touchdown drive to put South Elgin ahead for good.

During the drive Menken completed 4 of 7 passes, including a lob pass to the back left corner of the end zone that junior receiver Domico Failla caught for an 8-yard touchdown. Menken previously kept the drive alive by passing for first downs on two third-and-long plays and running for a first down on fourth and 2.

The gutsy effort came after Menken failed to complete any of his three pass attempts in the first half. Coach Dale Schabert lauded it as another example of Menken's growing maturity.

"A couple weeks ago when he had a tough game against St. Charles (East), the first thing I told everybody was he's our quarterback and we believe in him," Schabert said. "I said it was just one night, he'll learn from it, he'll get better and he did."

Menken is second in the area with 805 passing yards. The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder has completed 59 of 120 passes and thrown for eight touchdowns this year.

Defense doing job for Saints -- An improved offense is a big reason St. Charles East is in the midst of a four-game win streak, but don't be fooled about where the Saints are strongest.

A stingy defense led by seniors Jon Voytilla, Phil Bucaro, Jess Striedl, Drayton Heather, Austin Barry and Bryce Barry has held five of East's six opponents to 14 or fewer points. The Saints were particularly tough in last week's 21-14 win at Waubonsie Valley, limiting the Warriors to only 166 total yards.

"The defense has been solid all year long and I've been really impressed with them," East coach Mike Fields said. "They get better every week I think. As much as the offense has been coming around, the reality is our defense has by far been the best part of our entire team."

Injury report -- Larkin senior Reid Ellis will reportedly miss the rest of the season with a right leg injury he sustained in the first quarter of Saturday's loss against Elgin.

Ellis was a key member of the Royals defensive backfield. He was also saw significant time at wide receiver and contributed on special teams.