NewsTribune football roundup: St. Bede cruises in first Chicagoland Prairie game

In its inaugural Chicagoland Prairie League game, the St. Bede football team rolled to a dominating 54-0 win over Walther Christian on Saturday in Melrose Park.

“It was a great program win for our first conference game,” St. Bede coach Jim Eustice said. “We’re looking forward to continued challenges.”

The Bruins scored 26 points in the first quarter and led 40-0 at halftime.

Halden Hueneburg got the scoring started for St. Bede when he broke free for a 25-yard touchdown run just 47 seconds into the game. Also in the first, Brady Gillan ran for a 1-yard TD, and Max Bray tossed scoring passes of 32 yards to Carson Riva and 36 yards to Hunter Savage.

Bray rushed for a 23-yard TD run in the second quarter, while Landon Marquez scored on a 1-yard run to give the Bruins a 40-point lead at intermission.

St. Bede added two more scores in the second half on a 16-yard run by Gino Ferrari and a 14-yard run by Brennen Hirst.

Bray completed 4 of 7 passes for 102 yards and two touchdowns while running for 60 yards and a score. Seth Ferrari led a dominant defensive effort by the Bruins with six tackles, while Ryan Nawa had five tackles.

The Bruins limited Walther Christian to minus-2 rushing yards and 45 passing yards while recovering five fumbles.

St. Bede (2-1, 1-0 CPL) will play Ridgewood (2-1, 0-1 CPL) at 7 p.m. Friday in Peru.

Amboy co-op 60, Martinsville 8: The Clippers continued to crush their opponents this season, as they scored 52 points in the first half in Martinsville.

Landon Whelchel put Amboy on the scoreboard first with a 35-yard touchdown run, while Quinn Leffelman scored on a 10-yard run to give the Clippers a 14-8 lead after the first quarter.

The Clippers exploded for 38 points in the second quarter on a TD run by quarterback Eddie Jones, a 47-yard TD pass from Jones to Whelchel, a 70-yard scoring strike from Jones to Brennan Blaine, a 49-yard TD run by Whelchel and an 81-yard scoring run by Leffelman.

Leffelman put the finishing touches on the scoring with a 2-yard TD run in the third quarter.

The Clippers (3-0), who have outscored their first three opponents 186-16, play Peoria Quest (0-3) at 7 p.m. Friday in Amboy.