The first weekend of Little Illini Conference league play produced some big numbers and some big surprises. Here’s a recap:

FRIDAY

Marshall (3-0, 1-0) 34, Paris (2-1, 0-1) 30
Marshall built an 11-point lead in the second half, then held off favored Paris to improve to 3-0 for the first time since 2018. It wasn’t until running back Lucca Giannavola converted on a 4th-and-6 late that the Lions could relax with their first win in the series in eight years.

And, boy did Marshall run — 60 times in all –the bulk of the Lions’ 412 yards of total offense. Giannavola finished with 215 yards on 31 carries, two for touchdowns. He also caught a 23-yard TD pass. Liam Keim added 107 yards on 14 carries for the winners.

Paris had a good night on offense as well, churning for 362 yards of its’ own. Carter Crippes led the way on the ground with 184 yards on 13 trips. In the air, quarterback Brayden Rogers added 114 yards on 5-of-6 accuracy to go with two TDs.

The Lions have already surpassed last year’s win total, when they were 2-7.

Mt. Carmel (1-0, 1-2) 41, Robinson (0-1, 1-2)  13
Mt. Carmel averted an 0-3 start (which hasn’t happened since 1950) by scoring the first three touchdowns and the last two against Robinson. When running back Elliott Acree ran for a four-yard touchdown in the first quarter, that marked the first Golden Aces lead of the season. Acree added two more scoring runs to make it 21-0 before the Maroons started to make some noise, closing to within 28-13 by intermission. However, a 31-yard fourth-quarter pic-6 by Sitaleki Militoni put the game on ice.

Acree finished with 125 yards on 21 carries to lead the way on the ground. Militoni chipped in 119 yards on 15 attempts. Shain Meador added a 79-yard kickoff return TD to the mix.

Mt. Carmel’s defensive front may have been the story of the game, though, holding Robinson to seven yards on the ground. Maroons’ quarterback Reese Johnson  did go 7-of-16 over the top for 128 yards and one touchdown, a 32-yard flip to A.J. Knoblett.

Olney (3-0, 1-0) 57 , Lawrenceville (1-2, 01) 14
A 60-yard touchdown pass from Isaac Vennard to Jacek Mickiewicz put Lawrenceville ahead of Olney, 14-7, with 4:23 remaining in the second quarter. The lead lasted for just 21 seconds. Olney quarterback Gavyn Cothern scampered 63 yards for a score at 4:02, followed by a two-point conversion pass to put the Tigers ahead for good. Those were the first of 50 unanswered points as Olney pulled away to an eventual 57-14 LIC victory.

Cothern led the way with big numbers. On the ground, he rushed for 228 yards on only 14 carries, scoring three times on runs of 71, 63, and seven yards.  In the air, Cothern was 10-of-17 for 141 and three touchdowns. Olney’s defense added points on a 48-yard interception return by Aiden Germak.

Lawrenceville’s Vennard threw for 165 yards and two TDs on 5-of-11 accuracy. Nick Morehead led the Indians on the ground with 36 yards rushing on 13 carries.

SATURDAY

Casey-Westfield (3-0, 1-0) 28, Newton (1-2, 0-1) 7
Newton came within five yards of a game-tying score against Casey-Westfield with five minutes left in the second quarter. A lost fumble there, though, opened the door for the Warrior offense. Quarterback Nolan Clement found the end zone from 27 yards away to hike the C-W lead to 14-0 with 1:15 left before the half.

Newton did break the shutout up in the second half, but Casey-Westfield, ranked sixth in the latest AP Class 1A poll, eased away to a 28-7 win in the LIC opener for both teams.

The Warriors scored on their first drive of the game for the early lead, but then spent much of the night struggling with penalties.

This story will be updated as more information is gathered. Some of the statistics used are unofficial.