ROCKFORD — Belvidere North coach Curt Tobin knows the importance of Corey Wennmacher to the Blue Thunder offense.
“As Corey goes, we go,” Tobin said of his senior quarterback.
On Friday night, Wennmacher got the Blue Thunder going on the game’s opening play, returning the kickoff 70 yards for a touchdown.
He also threw for 169 yards and three touchdowns as Belvidere rolled to a 63-26 victory. The points output was the most in the two-year history of the school.
Wennmacher was far from satisfied.
“I threw two interceptions and we had another interception and fumble,” he said. “We moved the ball well when we did, but we need to clean a couple of things up a little bit.”
Wennmacher rushed for 116 yards on 14 carries before leaving the game early in the fourth quarter with an ankle injury.
“I’m OK,” he said after the game. “It was a burst of pain. It just hurt like crazy for a couple of seconds.”
Senior running back Jacob Billon did his share for the Blue Thunder offense, too.
He ran for 131 yards on 16 carries and rushed for three touchdowns (34 yards and two 2 yards).
“Our line made some big holes for me and the other backs. They were amazing tonight,” said Billon, who also caught TD passes of 20 and 4 yards from Wennmacher.
Belvidere North (5-3) jumped to a 21-0 first-quarter lead and pushed the advantage to 35-0 before Auburn (1-7) scored on a 73-yard pass from Cortavein Wiggins to Brandon Newton.
Wennmacher hit Doug Traceski with a 29-yard scoring pass just before the half for a 42-8 advantage.
Auburn defensive back Chris Hill kept the Knights alive with two spectacular plays in the second half.
He returned an interception 31 yards for a TD in the third quarter, and sprinted 99 yards for a score with another interception in the fourth period.
“You have to give Auburn credit,” Tobin said. “They could have hung their heads at halftime, but they came back and played to the last whistle.”
Denzel Baldwin contributed a 6-yard scoring run for Auburn, while Zach Stinson scored on a 17-yard run for Belvidere North.
The Blue Thunder’s Keith Larson also gathered up a fourth-quarter onside kick and ran 47 yards for a score.
— Doug Goodman, rrstar.com
