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Sports

Hard-Charging Hall Powers Hornets

Senior fullback's running vital in Hinsdale South win

It was all setup nicely for there to be a big upset Friday night.

Winless Leyden was celebrating homecoming while visiting , having glanced at the Eagles' lack of success, could have been looking forward to next Friday when they play rivals .

And it was starting to look almost like a possibility as the home team raced out to a quick 14-0 lead.

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And it all stopped — quickly, harshly and brutally.

Senior fullback Keontae Hall had 26 carries for 212 yards and two scores while quarterback D.J. Deolitsis threw for three scores and added three more on his feet as the Hornets rocked Leyden by the score of 60-35.

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The game may have taken long (3 hours, 8 minutes) but it wasn't without a bevy of touchdowns, penalties, mistackles and excitement.

Leyden got on the board quickly when quarterback Joe Difronzo drilled senior classmate Mike Lurigio for a 17-yard score on the game's opening possession.

followed with a fumble that was recovered by Leyden's Nelson Lugo. And on the first play, Eagles running back Mickey Gulo (18 carries, 120 yards, one touchdown) raced around left end for a 49-yard touchdown, igniting wild scenes from the Leyden crowd.

But it wasn't meant to be. Over the course of the next 18 minutes and 41 seconds — what was left of the first half — it was to be all Hornets.

It started with Nathan Andrews hauling in a 17-yard touchdown pass from Deolitsis.

The Hornet defense was the beneficiary of a bad snap over the Leyden punter's head on the next possession, which went out of the end zone for a safety.

Two plays into the second quarter and Hall walked in on a 4th down to give their first lead at 16-14.

The Hornet defense held when a long, Eagles drive went for naught as kicker Krysitan Chudoba missed right.

's offense sputtered and was forced to punt, which only helped set up field position as Leyden's offense came to a crashing halt when they faked a punt on 4th down which didn't work.

On the first play, Hall roared home from 42 yards out to give a 23-14 lead.

The theme continued: The Hornets forced another three-and-out and took over at their own 20 after a punt.

Wide receiver Justin Ward found himself free down the Leyden sideline for a 15-yard touchdown reception from Deolitsis with 18 seconds left to cap a memorable second quarter as the Hornets took a 30-14 lead into the locker room.

Junior offensive lineman Zack Guritz made mention of the Hornets' plan of attack: "A big part today was to develop the holes. We have to have strong offensive lineman movement and as long as we give him (Hall) some protection, he'll be able to find the holes."

The third quarter was back and forth as both teams found the scoreboard. Deolitsis drilled Ward for a 36-yard touchdown before scoring on an 11-yard option keeper. The scores were sandwiched by Leyden fullback Bryan Rideau punching in from a yard out.

The fourth quarter provided plenty of fireworks for both sides.

The Hornets scored twice more as Deolitsis scampered home from 33 yards out before a 15-yarder late. South also benefited from a weak-side blitz from Zach Hynek, who tackled Difronzo in the end zone for another safety.

Leyden, who remained winless, got a quarterback keeper from Difronzo before the Leyden signal-caller hit Lurigio for a second time from 16 yards out.

"Our offensive line played their best and never took a play off. We basically had to come back when they had the lead and we had to attack and that is exactly what we did," Hall said minutes after the game.

The Hornets take on bitter rivals next week.

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