Larkin runs away from East Aurora

ELGIN – In all likelihood the road to the playoffs for Larkin will have to go through South Elgin.

The Royals almost certainly need a win next week against their Elgin School District U46 rival. However, before the Royals could focus on that game, they needed to take care of business Friday. And they did just that with a 58-14 Upstate Eight Conference rout of East Aurora at Memorial Field.

Larkin improved to 5-3 overall and 2-3 in the UEC and guaranteed itself a winning regular season under second-year coach Matt Gehrig – the first for the program since 2006. But with just 26 playoff points entering Week 8, the five wins will likely not be enough for a postseason berth. Six victories clinches a bid.

That sets up a critical game against the visiting Storm (6-2) on Friday.

"Any way you look at it our goal right now is to beat South Elgin," said Gehrig. "We don't even want to think about backing into the playoffs or what points we need or any of that stuff. Our focus is on getting ready to play South Elgin."

Larkin again turned to its devastating running attack to roll past the Tomcats (0-8, 0-6). The Royals amassed 428 rushing yards, including a game-high 248 on 21 carries by senior Jalen Williams, who scored three touchdowns.

It took all of four carries for Williams to record his first 137 yards with TD runs of 47 and 84 yards on the Royals' first two possessions. He added a 5-yard TD run late in the second quarter.

The Royals scored the first 28 points of the contest and led 44-6 at the break. With the game well in hand from the start, Larkin was able to work on some other things, including getting sophomore running back Sylvester Smith some more carries. Smith rushed for 154 yards on 15 carries, including TD runs of 17 and 5 yards in the first half.

Quarterback Bryan Robinson had a 68-yard TD run for East in the first half. Tinard Thompson (54 yards on 13 carries) added an 8-yard TD run in the second half.

"These Tomcats don't quit," said East coach Bill Bryant. "We tried to hang in there. They have a very good team, but it was just a few too many weapons for us to be able to stop."