Harlem and all its weapons came out to play in the football season opener, and they made a statement during a dominant 55-14 win over last year's NIC-10 champions from Belvidere North on a stormy Friday night.
Star quarterback Braxton Fausett completed six of his 10 passes for 80 yards and two touchdowns for the Huskies, and he rushed it six times for 67 yards and a dazzling TD to ice the game late.
And he wasn't alone.
"We just want to be dangerous; dangerous at every position," Harlem head coach Jim Morrow said. "I think we were."
Harlem showed that its far from a one-pony show as LeBron McLelland hauled in all six pass completions for the Huskies, and Jackson Cook returned a punt 75 yards for a touchdown to blow the game wide open early in the second half. Halfback Tykeese Duncan had 98 yards rushing and a TD as well.
It all came after an hour-plus long lightning delay to start the evening. That didn't slow the Huskies down. The defense also did its job consistently in the opener on Friday, Aug. 22.
"We were going crazy during that little weather delay there, and that really just helped hype us up even more," said Cook, who also had three tackles and a pass breakup on defense. "We came to play tonight. And this is a big win, for sure."
Fausett completed 78 of his 116 passes for a 67% completion percentage last year as a sophomore, tossing 22 touchdowns and just one interception while throwing for 1,758 yards. And even during the soggy, foggy opener this year, he was sharp once again.
"We were so hyped for this one," Fausett said. "And it just seemed different today. You can tell we're going to be really good."
The Huskies came out fired up after an early hour-plus lightning delay. They quickly built a 28-7 halftime lead, and Fausett connected with his top target LeBron McClelland on a dart for a 46-yard TD early in the third to really break this one wide open.
Belvidere's Zavian McElroy carried the ball 13 times for an even 100 yards with a touchdown to lead the Bucs' offense, which produced 287 yards on the ground. But much of that came after Harlem had built a 42-7 lead.
Belvidere North beat Harlem 42-14 in the regular-season finale to snatch the NIC-10 title last season. This season things started off a bit differently.
"We sure started with a big game, and I really loved the fact that we saw a quality opponent right off the bat," Morrow said. "And we executed...This is a good win to start things off."
Jay Taft is a Rockford Register Star sports reporter. Email him at jtaft@rrstar.com and sign up for the Rockford High School Sports Newsletter here at rrstar.com. Jay has covered a variety of sports, from the Chicago Bears and Blackhawks to local youth sports, since the turn of the century at the Register Star.
This article originally appeared on Rockford Register Star: Harlem's weapons come out to play in Week 1 blowout of Belvidere North
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