Friday Night Takeaways: Hinsdale Central vs South Elgin

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The first round of the IHSA State Playoffs kicked off on Friday.&nbsp; Prep Redzone Illinois covered a contest as 6-3 Hinsdale Central traveled to 7-2 South Elgin for the 8A matchup.&nbsp; Hinsdale Central controlled the game in the first half and then blew it open in the second half winning by a final of 45-15.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Creativity for Red Devils on the Offensive Side</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Offensively it was a little bit of everything for Hinsdale Central in the victory.&nbsp; It all starts with their senior signal caller [player_tooltip player_id='283931' first='Riley' last='Contreras'].&nbsp; He is a plus athlete that is a dynamic runner with the ball in his hands.&nbsp; He rushed for 3 touchdowns in the game from 14 yards, 15 yards, and 18 yards.&nbsp; Excellent on designed runs.&nbsp; Showed off solid arm strength including hitting a 34 yard touchdown pass rolling out to his right from backside pressure.&nbsp; Very good small college QB prospect that brings athleticism and leadership to the position.&nbsp; On the perimeter there were several weapons for the Red Devils.&nbsp; Running back [player_tooltip player_id='1566824' first='Patrick' last='Connors'] caught the 34 yard score on a wheel route.&nbsp; Senior 6'2” wide receiver Jack Lesniewicz brings good size and is a possession guy that is slippery and strong with the ball after the catch.&nbsp; Junior 5'11” pass catcher [player_tooltip player_id='1296220' first='James' last='Skokna'] had a strong outing taking quick catches for yards after catch.&nbsp; Moving the chains on out routes.&nbsp; Catching a long ball on a go route for a score that was brought back by penalty.&nbsp; Also closed the night out with a 44 yard punt return touchdown.&nbsp; The top prospect in this game was Iowa Hawkeyes commit [player_tooltip player_id='401605' first='Gene' last='Riordan'] at right tackle.&nbsp; He is a massive human that knows how to use his physical gifts to do his job.&nbsp; Incredibly light on his feet, great use of his hands, and is an elite pass protector.&nbsp; Also showed he can maul in the run game including blowing up some holes for Contreras.&nbsp; At left tackle is 6'1” 2028 Luke Zajicek who held up well in both pass pro and pulling in the run game.<br><br><strong>Hinsdale Central Defense Stands Up in Playoff Opener<br></strong><br>It all started with the play up front for Hinsdale Central with 2027 6'3” defensive end [player_tooltip player_id='1115779' first='John' last='Breton'].&nbsp; He was dominant in this one.&nbsp; Started off by recovering a fumble on a botched handoff.&nbsp; Multiple massive TFLs where he physically dominated the opponent.&nbsp; Also got after the passer rushing upfield, spin move back toward the line on the tackle, then closed on the QB for the sack.&nbsp; Quickness getting off blocks, disciplined tackler in space, and holds up well when the ball is run at him.&nbsp; Standout 2027 defensive lineman [player_tooltip player_id='1304474' first='Tommy' last='Riordan'] played inside at defensive tackle most of the game.&nbsp; Like how he got penetration vs the run with his first step and use of hands.&nbsp; Takes good angles and runs well out of his area.&nbsp; Senior 5'11” linebacker [player_tooltip player_id='1583119' first='Timas' last='Marchertas'] flowed to the ball making tackles consistently against the run.&nbsp; Like the closing speed and vision he has pursuing.&nbsp; The defense closed out a strong performance with a pick 6 from 6'1” 2026 free safety Wes Novatney who read the QB's eyes coming over on a deep route snatching it and taking it to the house.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Key Plays Give Hinsdale Central Field Position and They Capitalize</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The biggest key to the game was Hinsdale Central made things happen on defense and special teams that gave themselves opportunities for short fields to score.&nbsp; On the opening kickoff of the game Dominic Tresslar ran it back for a touchdown.&nbsp; Hinsdale Central would recover a couple of fumbles that gave them short fields leading to scores.&nbsp; There was a punt mishap from blocking to not getting the kick off that gave them a short field.&nbsp; Their star kicker Micah Drescher who is committed to Michigan surprised South Elgin with an onside kick which he dribbled up the middle to recover.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>South Elgin Standout Prospects</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>The most impressive performer for South Elgin was 2026 running back [player_tooltip player_id='1954279' first='Darrion' last='Thurman'].&nbsp; The 5'10” back did a nice job of following his blocking schemes and runs low to the ground.&nbsp; Runs well in between the tackles hitting the hole hard and exploding through it.&nbsp; Makes quick cuts in the hole and is hard to bring down as he runs over defenders.&nbsp; Also brings a ton of value as a pass catcher grabbing multiple catches out of the backfield including a 34 yard touchdown on a wheel route thrown to him by backup QB 2028 Danny Traver.&nbsp; Colorado commit [player_tooltip player_id='1399937' first='Gavin' last='Mueller'] is a big and athletic tight end that has been a beast out of the wildcat as a runner all season long.&nbsp; He got a 1 yard touchdown run, but didn't get much done overall on the ground as they clearly focused in on stopping him.&nbsp; Caught one pass for a 3 yard gain on an out route.&nbsp; Sophomore wide receiver [player_tooltip player_id='790510' first='Julian' last='Huerta'] is a sneaky pass catcher that adjusts well to the ball downfield grabbing a pair of passes on verticals.&nbsp; Another 2028 that was productive in this game was outside linebacker DeAngelo Cain who had a TFL to close the first quarter and was always around the ball with his closing speed.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Interesting Special Teams Plays</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>We mentioned Hinsdale Central 2026 kicker Micah Drescher earlier who had quite a night.&nbsp; He made a 38 yard field goal, had an onside kick recovery by himself, and then had one of the most interesting “punts” I've ever seen.&nbsp; Instead of the traditional punt formation they lined up as a field goal kick but on the other side of the 50 twice.&nbsp; They ran it like it was a field goal as he kicked it as far as he could and then South Elgin started the possession.&nbsp; I have never in all my years of watching football seen that.&nbsp; Apparently it's legal and it is a weapon when you have an elite kicker like Drescher who can kick field goals that well.&nbsp; One of them even pinned the opponent inside the 5 yard line.&nbsp; The other interesting special teams play came when South Elgin kicker/punter Nick Dodge lined up at wide receiver on 4^th down, motioned toward the line, took a pitch from the QB and then rugby kicked it pinning Hinsdale Central.&nbsp; Never seen that before either.&nbsp; He also kicked in a nice field goal.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->