Giants Beat Maine West Warriors 56-14

The came out with another strong performance last Friday night, celebrating their Homecoming with a 56-14 win over the and garnering their second victory of the season. 

Following up their tenacious performance against , the Giants started off aggressive and kept that momentum going all throughout the game. 

“[After starting 0-3], our goal was to keep improving, and that’s exactly what these kids are doing: improving everyday," said head coach Hal Chiodo after the game.

The defense really shined for the Giants as they seemed to fly to the ball on every down, not quitting until the whistle blew. Maine West got the ball to start the game, and after two menial rushes, senior defensive back picked off Maine West’s quarterback, returning it all the way to the Warrior’s 13-yard line.  

What followed was a three-play, 13-yard drive that was capped with a 1-yard TD run by junior running back .

The Warrior’s next two series ended with punts, and with 1:56 remaining in the first quarter, Sledd broke a 10-yard run to the outside for his second touchdown of the game. 

“We really thought [Niles West] would be coming into tonight defending the perimeter, so we tried to mix up who we gave the ball to,” Chiodo said. “Once we saw the perimeter was unprotected, Andrew was able to make some nice runs to the outside.”  

This was especially true when, on the Giant’s next possession, Sledd broke a 21-yard run to the outside for his third TD of the game, putting the Giants up 20-0, and capping off a well-executed first quarter.

The Warriors managed only nine total yards of offense in the first and had one turnover deep in their own territory, which showed that the Giants defense was doing exactly what they needed to be doing. 

The start of the second half didn’t prove to be any different when, on the Warrior’s first series, Highland Park sacked the quarterback two times for a loss of 8 yards, resulting in their fourth punt of the game thus far.

The Warriors didn’t manage a first down until 4:23 seconds into the second quarter when they completed a 15-yard pass (nearly doubling their total yardage in the game).  But the Giants adjusted and tackled Maine West's running back for a loss, forcing them to punt again.

The Giants responded to the defense’s solid play with a six-play, 3:25 drive ending with a 12-yard TD dash by Sledd, his fourth of the half.

The Giants defense hiccuped on the next drive when they gave up a 65-yard TD pass on the Warriors first snap, closing the gap to 27-7.  But on the ensuing kickoff, Sledd brought the ball out to the Warrior’s 37-yard line, then rushed 37-yards to score on the next play, sending the Giants up 34-7.  

“What can I say?” Chiodo said with a smile after the game. “[Sledd] played another good game out there.”  

Sledd would finish with 5 touchdowns, bringing his total in 8 quarters of play to 11 TDs.

The Giants attempted, and recovered, an onside kick with 1:47 left in the first half. The following drive was short and effective, ending with a 9-yard strike from senior quarterback to senior wide receiver . 

After the Warrior’s fumbled on their next possession with 49 seconds left on the clock, the Giants marched down the field, ending with another TD pass from Mordini, this one to senior running back , sending the Giants into the locker room with a 47-7 lead.

Because of the high school “mercy rule,” since the Giants were up by such a large margin, the clock would continue to run on first downs, incompletions or balls out of bounds. This was either a blessing or a curse for the Warriors who were pummeled in the backfield for -11 yards of offense in the third quarter, putting their total for the game at 76 (65 of those coming on the TD pass).

The Giants came out with a very meticulous game plan: “Keep the ball on the ground.” Senior quarterback came in for Mordini at the start of the third and was tagged with the job of “keeping the ball safe.” 

After four successful quarterback keepers, Goldstein fumbled the ball deep in Warrior territory. But the Giants defense took the field as hungry as ever. They sacked the quarterback not once, but twice, for a combined loss of 11 yards. The final sack resulted in a safety that put the Giants up 49-7 to end the third quarter.

The start of the fourth quarter didn’t alter the theme of the game when senior wide receiver Hank Carlson broke to the outside for an 18-yard score; the Giant’s team continuing to exude a brilliant sense of focused energy and incredible poise.  

“It would have been easy for us to get distracted with it being Homecoming and all,” Chiodo remarked when asked about his strategy coming into last week. “But these boys came out and played hard tonight.”

Maine West did manage another TD in the fourth quarter—a 61-yard pass—but, by then, the damage was already done with the Giants up 56-14 (which would be the final score).

“We played in spurts all year long,” Chiodo noted.  “Even last week [against Niles West] we had some mistakes. Tonight was the first time this season we came out and played a full, complete game.”

The Giants take on the in Park Ridge this Friday at 7:30 p.m.