West Aurora blows out rival East Aurora

The overflow crowd for the oldest football rivalry in the state was noticeable thinner after the intermission.

West Aurora completely shut down East Aurora Friday night at home, limiting the Tomcats' offense to 37 total yards while using balance and depth to win going away 46-0 in a series that dates back to 1892.

The entire second half was played with a running clock after West Aurora scored 27 second-quarter points en route to a 40-0 lead at the break.

We didn't have to go very far," West Aurora coach Buck Drach said of his offense that repeatedly cashed in on plus-territory starting drives. "We kind of wore them down. They had a lot of guys going both ways."

West Aurora linebacker Kevin Costin spearheaded the Blackhawks' suffocating defense. The senior thwarted the Tomcats' opening drive with an interception, which led to Leon Spears' 10-yard romp to start the scoring.

Later in the second quarter, with West Aurora leading by three scores after consecutive keepers for touchdowns by quarterback John Nunnally, Costin scooped up a fumble and rumbled 24 yards for another touchdown.

"They (East Aurora) came out and kind of surprised us," Costin said. "We still have a lot of work to do (on defense)."

(Costin) is a big-time player," said Drach. "I think he's the first player in West High history to letter all four years."

Drach was substituting liberally midway through the second quarter, and Spears, who finished with 48 yards on six touches, had another score around end to up the Blackhawks' lead to 33-0 late in the second.

Malcohm Wood took over for Nunnally in the second, and the junior reserve quarterback floated a perfect 33-yard strike to Aviance King-the longest play from scrimmage for either team all night-to conclude the Blackhawks' first-half outburst.

"It was my first varsity game," said King, a junior. "I didn't even see the quarterback. I saw it come over the line and knew I had to catch it."

On the defensive side, West Aurora harassed and dogged East Aurora feature back Richard Jimenez all night; as a team, East Aurora finished with 24 yards on 26 carries. The Blackhawks allowed their archrivals to complete a lone pass while surrendering a mere 6 first downs on the night.

"We just literally got beat up front," said East Aurora coach Bill Bryant. "Our skill players match up pretty well with theirs. But the backs didn't have any blocking, and we had some very poor field position."

Tray Peoples capped the scoring with a 2-yard plunge in the third quarter for West Aurora.