Giant Bolingbrook freshman Darieon Prescott’s two sack fuels win over Yorkville

YORKVILLE – Freshmen rarely get pulled up to varsity. It’s even rarer to see a freshman get time on the field.

It’s nearly impossible to find a freshman like Darieon Prescott.

Prescott stands at a towering 6-foot-5 and is listed at 210 pounds. The Bolingbrook freshman defensive end notched two sacks in the Raiders’ 17-6 win over Yorkville and smiled through every second of it.

“I love the intensity,” he said. “I love my whole team.”

The Bolingbrook defense collected four sacks and two interceptions on the evening, shutting the door deep in its own territory on multiple occasions.

Yorkville (2-3, 0-1 SPC West) started the scoring. The Foxes, set up with a short field thanks to a bad snap on a Bolingbrook punt attempt, got into the endzone on a nifty 16-yard end around to Dyllan Malone, giving the Foxes a 6-0 lead halfway through the first quarter.

Bolingbrook (3-2, 1-0 SPC West) started out slowly. The Raider offense was turned away on its first two drives. First a three-and-out, then a seven-play drive that stalled out in Bolingbrook territory.

Finally, on the third drive, the Raiders hit pay dirt. Running back TJ Lewis broke four tackles in a “Beast Quake” like run that spanned 35 yards for a touchdown, giving the Raiders a lead they would never relinquish.

“We’re trying to establish the run,” Bolingbrook coach Titcus Pettigrew said. “TJ’s a sophomore, and he’s a load.”

Lewis finished with 24 carries for 109 yards.

On the next Raider possession, Bolingbrook was lined up in punt formation, but another poor snap put the ball at the Bolingbrook two-yard line, placing Yorkville in prime scoring position.

But after two failed quarterback keepers and a handoff that went nowhere, the Foxes faced fourth and goal from the one.

Yorkville quarterback Jack Beetham took the shotgun snap was forced out of the pocket to his left. As he tried to make magic happen, he was wrapped by the Prescott, finishing off the Raider goal line stand.

“Prescott’s a unicorn,” Pettigrew said. “Sometimes Christmas comes early. We got a gift with him.”

After finishing off the sack, Prescott got up and celebrated with his teammates.

“I love to celebrate with my team,” he said. “I flip a switch when I get on that field. I love it.”

A 22-yard field goal before the half gave the Raiders a 10-6 lead.

After a slow start offensively in the first 24 minutes, the Foxes went to the quick passing game to get Beetham and the receivers into a rhythm. But after a 19-yard catch and run by Tavaris Harland Jr., Beetham was picked off by Kaiyel Davis on a tipped pass, ending the threat.

“Something we’ve done the past few weeks is go with our quick game,” Yorkville coach Dan McGuire said. “That’s something we’ve tried to hang our hat on the past couple of weeks.”

Joey Bodell, a senior linebacker, grabbed the second interception of the day for the Raiders halfway through the fourth quarter.

“Our quarterback played great,” McGuire said. “Ultimately I didn’t design the right plays to get in the endzone.”

Beetham finished the evening 16 of 27 for 160 yards and two interceptions. Malone, his favorite target, hauled in six passes for 63 yards.

The Bolingbrook offense put together an 11-play, 74-yard drive that took 6:20 off the clock, bleeding half of the third quarter, and the first few ticks of the fourth.

“We know when it gets cold, there’s not going to be a lot of basketball on grass,” Pettigrew said. “It’s going to be three yards and a cloud of dust.”

As the Foxes tried to string together a last-ditch comeback effort with under two minutes to go, a promising drive was stopped in its tracks by Pettigrew’s second sack of the night, this one losing five yards.

“He is one of the humblest young guys,” Pettigrew said about Prescott. “His father played professionally, so he gets it.”

McGuire knows tonight was a night of missed opportunities. The Foxes were one of four in the red zone and were flagged six times for 59 yards.

“If we were able to score once in those times it changes the complexion against a team that primarily runs the ball,” McGuire said. “It boils down to me doing a better job of getting us in the endzone.”

Prescott hopes this is only the start.

“We need to lock in,” he said. “We need to get some more ‘dubs’ so we can get into the playoffs.”