Mustangs Keep the Cannon, Defeat Hinsdale South 49-6

The Rebel Cannon will remain in Downers Grove for at least another year.

extended the trophy’s stay by blowing out Hinsdale South 49-6 Friday night in Downers Grove. The two rivals have battled for the Cannon every year since 1966 and the Mustangs have now won it six years in a row, meaning this year’s seniors are the third straight class to have never lost the Cannon.

“We’ve always beaten Hinsdale South, so it’s nice to finish it off,” Downers South Senior Defensive Lineman Jeremy Ulrich said.

The Mustangs, who improved to 8-0 overall and 5-0 in the West Suburban Conference Gold Division, were led again by running back Josh Williams, who continued his terrific senior season by rushing 37 times for 233 yards and four touchdowns. He now has 1,900 rushing yards and 30 overall touchdowns.

But the Homecoming crowd was also treated to an outstanding performance by the Downers South defense, which has given up only 49 points this season despite playing in the shadows of Williams’ brilliance.

“We’re just really glad that we’ve got Josh,” Ulrich said. “He gets a lot of the cred, but we’re in the background doing our jobs and we don’t mind. We take pride in it.”

Ulrich was in the thick of the action, recording a sack and a fumble recovery as the Mustangs limited the Hornets (4-4, 3-2) to just 97 yards of total offense (Downers South had 414 yards).

Hinsdale South quarterback DJ Deolitsis was sacked by Ulrich, senior safety Danny Leach and senior linebacker Melvin Saulsberry and finished 7 of 16 passing for 57 yards. He also rushed 11 times for minus-one yard.

The Hornets, in fact, had minus-24 yards of offense after the first quarter, which ended with the Mustangs ahead 14-0 after Williams scored on runs of 3 and 1 yards. The first touchdown was set up when Downers South nearly blocked a punt near the Hornets’ end zone, giving the Mustangs the ball at the Hinsdale South 23.

Downers South’s run defense was especially tough, giving up only three plays longer than six yards as the visitors gained only 42 yards on 30 carries.

“We do try to get 11 guys to the ball every time, so pretty much we’re just right there every time,” said Saulsberry, who also had a fumble recovery. “Even if [the ballcarrier] is down, we’re going to all get there and that’s how we’re going to get the ball out.

"We all work hard in practice. We all contribute, we all go 100 percent, so it pays off during the game because we’re never tired.”

And never threatened. The Mustangs have trailed only twice this season, both times in the first quarter.

Hinsdale South’s only score came on a 21-yard touchdown pass from Deolitsis to Nathan Andrews on the final play of the first half that cut Downers South’s lead to 22-6. But the Mustangs responded by scoring on their first three possessions of the second half, including touchdown runs of 6 and 13 yards by Williams and a 37-yard touchdown pass from A.J. Simoncelli to Kaylon Miller.

Simoncelli completed 7 of 14 passes for 117 yards and two scores, the other being a 23-yarder to tight end Scott Daly in the second quarter. Junior Sean Love completed the scoring with 37 seconds left in the contest with a 44-yard run, his first varsity touchdown.

“We didn’t play a great game tonight,” Downers South coach John Belskis said. “We did a lot of things wrong, but [the Hornets] are trying over there. It’s a new coach and a new system and they’re going to be better next year.

“It was Homecoming and everybody was worried about everything but football, so trying to keep [his players’] focus was tough. It was a nice win.”