Downers Grove South Routs Leyden in Conference Opener

Downers Grove South's two tough season-opening losses seem like a distant memory after the way the Mustangs played in their conference opener Friday night.

The Mustangs, who opened the season with tight losses to state-ranked squads Bolingbrook and Glenbard West, dominated Leyden on both sides of the ball en route to winning 41-0 in Downers Grove.

Quarterback A.J. Simoncelli threw three touchdown passes, tailback Josh Williams rushed for 236 yards and a pair of TDs and the defense kept Leyden without a first down in the second and third quarters.

"My line held out very well and I'm very proud of them," said Simoncelli, who capped his team's first drive of the night with a 3-yard scoring pass to Jordan Hoffman in the final minute of the first quarter. "It's nice to give Josh (Williams) the ball because that opens up the passing game. And the defense tonight was amazing."

Leyden (1-2 overall, 0-1 West Suburban Gold) moved the ball on its opening drive, which featured a touchdown pass erased by a penalty and then a missed 41-yard field goal attempt. But from there, the Mustangs' defense took over, despite being without four starters because of injury.

Chris Eberhardt and Justin Norwood anchored the big defensive line, Bryan Ruggiero had two interceptions and Danny Leach added a pick on a fake punt by the Eagles.

"We've been working hard all year and our defense has stepped up," said Norwood, who helped limit the Eagles to just 96 yards rushing on 30 attempts. "Our No. 1 goal was to get a shutout. Leach and Ruggiero lead our backfield, and it was nice to see those two guys get interceptions."

Marco Scalzetti had a pair of touchdown catches in the first half, but the Eagles also had no answers for Williams, who ran 12 times for 83 yards on South's first drive. Williams had a 131-yard first half.

When he ripped off a 54-yard TD burst in the third quarter, Williams reached the 200-yard mark and his team was well on its way to its first win.

"With six starters out, we weren't sure what to expect," Downers Grove South coach John Belskis said. "We stayed healthy, which helped, and it was a feel-good game to come back and open the conference with."

Hoffman added a 15-yard TD run in the fourth quarter to go along with his catch that had started the night's scoring. Hoffman's run came with 4:30 left to play, and the 40-point margin resulted in a running clock the rest of the way.