Homewood-Flossmoor’s quarterback Ronald Johnson (7) drops back to pass during the second quarter against Joliet West at Joliet West, Saturday October, 12, 2012. | Ray Luna ~ For Sun-Times Media

Recounting all the highlights of Homewood-Flossmoor’s 49-8 SouthWest Suburban Blue victory at Joliet West on Saturday afternoon is like attempting to find that needle in a haystack.

Virtually impossible.

The Vikings’ onslaught began with their opening drive and continued to gain momentum as the first half dragged on from a Joliet West perspective. In fact, H-F (6-2, 4-2) led 35-0 by the end of the first quarter and 49-0 by halftime. The Vikings, who are assured a spot in the playoffs, already had conquered the rainy conditions to the tune of 370 yards of offense and 15 first downs, which is right in line with how they have been playing.

“We respect Joliet West, but to be honest, we were looking to get a running clock early,” H-F coach Craig Buzea said. “This is the third week in a row we’ve had it.”

Junior quarterback Ronald Johnson completed all seven of his passes for 119 yards and three touchdowns, two of them to tight end Willie Ross. Running back Taje Smith rushed for 108 yard in nine first-half carries and scored twice.

Multi-talented junior Aaron Gooch made two of the biggest plays. He returned a punt 50 yards to the West 2-yard line to set up the Vikings’ second score and caught a 75-yard touchdown pass from Patrick Sheehan on a double pass for H-F’s fifth touchdown of the first quarter.

“Our quarterback (Johnson) has been on fire,” Buzea said. “Gooch ran a kickoff back for a touchdown and a punt to the 2-yard line last week. He makes big plays. He’s a nice complement to our other weapons.”

“They’re good, and we knew going in that they are,” West coach Jason Aubry said. “They’ve got big boys in the line, their quarterback is very good, their receivers caught everything he threw them and Craig (Buzea) is a good coach.”