Wesley Nunez didn’t have a lot to do in Lane’s double-wing offense last season.
But coach Dedrick Dewalt has opened up the playbook this season, and Nunez is making the most of it.
The senior receiver caught three touchdown passes from Noah Mayra as Lane beat Hyde Park 32-14 in a Public League Red game Saturday at Eckersall Stadium.
Nunez and Mayra knew they would play a bigger role on offense for the Champions (2-1, 1-0 Public Red) this fall and made sure they were ready.
‘‘We’ve been working all year long, throughout the summer, me and my teammates, knowing it was going to be a switch in the offseason to a passing offense,’’ Nunez said.
‘‘[Mayra] was coming with me every day to Quarterback Academy, throwing, getting work in. I’m driving, picking him up at 6 a.m., and we’d go down to Aurora to get some quarterback training. So that really developed it.’’
Nunez’s highlight-reel play of the day was a 15-yard touchdown catch in the right rear corner of the end zone in the second quarter.
‘‘To be honest with you, I was running and saw the ball over my head, and I just had to come down with it,’’ Nunez said. ‘‘You kind of have an awareness of where the end zone ends. When you catch the ball and you’re back there, you’re just really trying to drag your feet, and it was in.’’
He also had touchdown catches of 24 yards in the second quarter and 25 yards in the fourth, finishing with five receptions for 72 yards. And Nunez contributed with a tackle for loss as a safety on defense.
Being on the field all the time is just fine with him.
‘‘I love it,’’ he said. ‘‘Football is my favorite game. It has been my passion since I was so young. Ever since I came into this program, I knew that I wanted to be on both sides of the ball.’’
Dewalt said he is glad to have Nunez, among others, to work with in the passing game.
‘‘Last year, we really didn’t have those options at receiver,’’ Dewalt said. ‘‘This year, we do. And that was one of the reasons we went to the wing-T last year. This year, we’ve opened it up a little bit. We have more athletes on the outside in the skill positions.’’
Mayra, a 6-3 junior who played receiver until this season, was 9-for-13 for 107 yards and the three touchdowns. He also ran for a touchdown, as did senior running back Antonio Bombe.
Hyde Park (1-2, 0-1 Public Red) has a new coach in Daron Williams and a mostly new varsity team. The Thunderbirds have 14 sophomores, three freshmen and six seniors — only three of whom saw much playing time last fall — on their roster.
Quarterback Pink Dorsey threw a 63-yard touchdown pass to fellow junior Angelo Stafford, and sophomore Jaemilion Howard had a five-yard touchdown run for Hyde Park.
‘‘We just have to keep learning,’’ Williams said. ‘‘We’ve got a lot of young kids. . . . We’ve got a new offensive system, a new defensive system. We’re not the same team as last year.’’
