King’s large, athletic linemen sacked Simeon quarterback Aki King on back-to-back downs midway through the fourth quarter.
Then seniors Damare Griffin (6-4, 305 pounds), Cornelius Moore (6-6, 230), Denero Jenkins (6-2, 330) and Prince McGill (6-0, 275) switched over to the offensive side of the ball and created a hole that may change the course of King football history.
Senior running back Herman Yancey blasted through it for a 55-yard touchdown run, giving the Jaguars their first lead against Simeon in many years.
“I was patient, and I waited for the hole to open up and then exploded and scored,” Yancey said.
Yancey rushed for 135 yards and two touchdowns in the Jaguars’ 19-16 win against Simeon on Saturday at Stagg Stadium.
His second TD came with 2:57 left and provided enough of a cushion for King to withstand a 95-yard kickoff return touchdown by star Simeon sophomore Jalonny Billingsley a few seconds later.
“It is real,” Wolverines coach Sinque Turner said. “King is here. I have to give them their roses. You can’t take anything away from what they did on this football field. I take my cap off to them. This is a tough loss. A very, very tough loss.”
The game’s intensity was too high for most of the first half. Both sides committed personal fouls, and it was a sloppy, penalty-filled slog.
“We’ve been talking about it being a dogfight all week,” King coach Abdullah Asad. “The first half, there were a lot of penalties. That’s a good football team, and we are a good football team. But we made some great adjustments and kept things under control in the second half.”
Simeon (1-4, 1-1 Red Star) led 8-0 after a safety in the first quarter and a one-yard TD run from James Bell right before halftime.
King’s first score came on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Tremaine Ford to Emmanuel James late in the third quarter.
“It was very intense,” Moore said. “It felt like a college game. I was very excited going into this week, and we did great, and we finished. It is a statement piece. We run the Red, and we run Chicago.”
Bell had 16 carries for 74 yards for Simeon. King went 6-for-15, throwing for 102 yards with two interceptions.
“There were some bad decisions on our end and a lack of execution,” Turner said. “We beat ourselves. King’s coaching staff is doing a phenomenal job. Those are guys that are close to me, and they coached their butts off today. They shut us out in the second half. I have to give them their credit.”
Herman Yancey breaks loose for a 55-yard TD.
King stuffed Simeon with back to back sacks to get the ball.
Jaguars lead Simeon 12-8 with 9:21 left. pic.twitter.com/m6df1C5BvL
— Michael O’Brien (@michaelsobrien) September 19, 2026
King (4-1, 2-0) knocked off St. Laurence earlier this season, and its only loss is to Marist. Close observers of Public League football knew it was a program on the rise, but there was no concrete proof until Saturday.
“It is a full circle moment for me for sure,” Asad said. “I’ve been coaching in CPS for eight years, and everybody always tells me what I couldn’t do. I said when I got my guys, we would be good to go. A lot of these guys that are seniors right now have been with the program for three or four years. They are drinking the Kool-Aid and doing a great job.”
Simeon has played a challenging schedule, but has high expectations for the season. Next up for the Wolverines is a showdown with rival Morgan Park.
“We will see what these guys are made of, if they can dust themselves off and get ready for Morgan Park,” Turner said. “That is going to be a heck of a game. Those guys are going to come for blood. We have to do some soul searching in our camp.”
@michaelsobriensports King’s line was dominant on both sides of the ball in the win against Simeon. #ihsa #football #chicago ♬ original sound – michaelsobriensports