Undefeated regular seasons are nice, unless they lead to playoff dead ends.
That’s why Hersey coach Tom Nelson sought out the toughest possible game for Week 1: a matchup with Warren and Aaron Stewart, the state’s best running back.
The Huskies lost that game, but almost three months later they’re seeing the payoff.
Brandon Jenkins ran 21 times for 266 yards and two touchdowns — both in a 49-second span early in the third quarter — as No. 20 Hersey beat Richards 42-21 Friday night in Class 7A second-round action in Oak Lawn.
The Huskies (9-2) are in the quarterfinals for the first time since winning their only state title in 1987. They will play Lincoln-Way Central or St. Rita next weekend.
“We needed to be challenged,” Nelson said of scheduling Warren to open.the season. “We need to see some good teams, even if we weren’t up to that standard at that point. It’s just going to help us in these moments.”
Hersey started 10-0 in 2022 and 2023, but was knocked out of the playoffs in the second round both years. Now they’ve flipped the script after starting 0-2 with losses to Warren and Barrington.
Jenkins and quarterback Jake Nawrot, who accounted for four touchdowns, appreciated the early tests.
“Nobody knows what we’re saying in the meetings after we go 0-2,” Jenkins said. “People think that we drop our heads. But we honestly didn’t do any of that all year. … We could have easily … said the season was over … but we didn’t.”
“I think being 0-2 is the best-case scenario because it gave us something to play for,” Nawrot said. “We hit a little adversity. … We had a big win midseason [over rival Prospect] that really got the momentum going. These playoff games we’ve just come out firing.”
Still Friday night’s game was close for a half with Hersey up 14-7 after Nawrot’s three-yard TD pass to Josh Riggs 1:24 before the break. Nawrot, who set the program’s single-season record for passing yards this year, also ran seven yards for a touchdown two plays after Jenkins ripped off an 85-yard run.
Jenkins, Hersey’s career rushing leader, went back to work at the start of the third quarter. He raced 63 yards for a score on the Huskies’ first play from scrimmage and broke off a 53-yard score right after Richards lost a fumble. Just like that, it was 28-7 barely a minute into the second half.
“After the second long [touchdown], I looked at him like, ‘Are you for real?'” Nawrot said. “This kid is legit, dude. He’s just running all over the place, but that’s what he’s been doing … since he was a sophomore.”
Having two of the most accomplished skill players in program history isn’t something Nelson takes for granted.
“It makes my job a lot easier,” he said. “Both those kids are special players. Obviously in these games you’ve got to lean on them.”
Nawrot added another short TD run and a three-yard TD pass to Jackson Wilder. He finished 11-of-16 passing for 145 yards and two TDs with no interceptions.
Richards (9-2) had big games from quarterback Noah Escobedo and running back Ahmad Buchanan. Escobedo was 19-of-38 passing for 234 yards and TDs to Carmelo Palumbo, Jaiden Henry and Buchanan with no interceptions. Buchanan ran 19 times for 145 yards. But the Bulldogs were hurt by the game’s only two turnovers, a red-zone fumble on the first drive of the game and rhe third-quarter fumble.
“It just wasn’t our night,” Bulldogs coach Tony Sheehan said. “[Hersey] played extremely well and some things that didn’t happen all year for us happened tonight. … But you’ve got to give credit to them. They’re a very good football team.”