Chicago-Area High School Football News and Scores | Season Pass

Elmwood Park trailed early before it went on a scoring rampage and romped at home 82-27 over Chicago Academy Friday night.

The Tigers (7-14) actually trailed 5-3 early in the first quarter but turned the game into a rout when they went on a 36-3 run to take a commanding 39-8 halftime advantage.

Elmwood Park senior Elliott Perez scored 20 of his game-high 22 points and had 10 rebounds in the first half, but it was the reserves who shined after the break and extended the lead even more as the hosts went on to win the non-conference contest by 55 points.

Sophomore Ian Nunez, playing in his first varsity game, scored 12 points, including draining two shots from three-point range. Freshman Khalif Bentley entered the contest in the second quarter and popped in 10 points for the Tigers.

“We played better defense after some early troubles and got a lot of layups after that – a lot of layups,” Elmwood Park head coach Mike Wasielewski said. “We were more athletic than Chicago Academy (1-15) and they’re also a very young team, but we showed a lot of aggressive play, utilized everyone and they all contributed.

“I think Ian [Nunez] and Khalif [Bentley] have real bright futures for us,” he added. “We brought them up because we needed some numbers after a couple of players dropped off the team. Khalif is a freshman, but he was averaging double figures at the sophomore level so we decided recently it was time to test him on varsity. He has been with us a couple of games now and he has shown quickness offensively, an ability to pass the ball and he can really get to the basket. Ian has been solid at the sophomore level and came off the bench ready to play and really showed he can shoot the ball.”

The Cougars were led in scoring by Elijah Hill with seven points, while Curtis Alequin added six.