Giants put it all together in Week 1 victory

Highland Park football wants to go further this season and took a major step forward in its opener.

The Giants scored on its first four possessions en route to a 37-0 road victory over Leyden Friday, Aug. 25, in Northlake.

Senior quarterback David Finfer tossed three first-half touchdowns — one each to Nick Blumer (5 yards), Eli Moore (5 yards) and Andrew Cortes (3 yards) — and senior tailback Nikko Rosenbloom added a 5-yard touchdown scamper as Highland Park built an insurmountable early lead.

Wideout Johnny Walker set up three of the scores with long receptions: a 34-yarder preceding Blumer’s D, a 40-yard deep ball leading to Moore’s score, and an 18-yard catch and run prior to the Finfer-to-Cortes connection.

Walker got his score in the second half, connecting with Finfer on a 29-yard touchdown to cap the Giants’ scoring.

The Giants defense held up its end of the bargain.

Highland Park forced the Eagles into two punts and two turnovers in their first four possessions. Blumer nabbed the interception, and Tyler Glezer forced a fumble picked up by Sebastian Vybral.

Vybral added a sack, and the Giants defense got tackles for loss from Alex Knight, Asher Stern, Gleyzer (3) and Cortes. Knight added a second-half safety.

Finfer finished 14 of 29 passing for 222 yards to go with his four TD tosses. Rosenbloom gained 123 total yards and caught five passes.

The 1-0 Giants will welcome rival Deerfield to Wolters Field in Week 2 at 7 p.m. Friday, Sept. 1. The Warriors — who are now in the Central Suburban South while Highland Park remains in the CSL North — toppled DePaul Prep 34-14 in its opener Friday.

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