WW South has great expectations again
It wouldn't be Wheaton Warrenville South football without heavy expectations.
This season this weekend is no different.
The Tigers (13-0) head to their 10th state title game to face Lake Zurich (12-1) in the Class 7A final at 4 p.m. Saturday at Champaign's Memorial Stadium. WW South seeks its seventh championship in a showdown against a Bears program that topped the Tigers 7-3 in the 2007 7A title game to deny them a repeat.
As the defending 7A champions, the state's consensus No. 1 team and a nationally ranked power riding a 25-game winning streak, the Tigers face tremendous pressure in trying to live up to the billing that past WW South teams also endured.
Like the 1998 team considered by some to be the best in state history and the 2006 team that beat playoff opponents by a combined margin of 185-43, this year's group will attempt to plow through the season with an unbeaten record and match the 1995 and 1996 teams that repeated at champions.
There's no doubt it's already been a great season for the Tigers. Without the state title, though, it'll feel incomplete.
“It'd be disappointing not to win it,” said Tigers quarterback Reilly O'Toole. “This is what you put in all the hard work for. We've played 13 games to win this 14th game.”
O'Toole was in the Memorial Stadium stands as a freshman when WW South fell to Lake Zurich in 2007. Senior free safety Caleb Bednarz actually played in that game and returned punts.
Revenge, however, is not the motivation for the Tigers. An internal drive pushes this year's team, an attitude epitomized by their team slogan of “Better than yesterday.”
With those three words, the Tigers signaled to the state that they were prepared to put everything they had into every game and every play. Through 13 games, WW South hasn't let up.
“It would mean nothing if we didn't win the state championship,” said Tigers running back Matt Rogers. “With this group of guys, playing every week, it's been an amazing feeling.”
Relentless on offense and defense, WW South has dominated every game it's played. While O'Toole and the offense averaging 43 points and 392 yards per game has garnered most of the attention, the defense has been just as effective.
The margin of victory this season has averaged a staggering 5 touchdowns per game.
“We've been focused all season on this goal of winning a state title,” said Tigers defensive lineman Sparty Chino. “It'd be great for this program to show Tiger football is not only the best in the state but maybe one of the top programs in the country, too.”
The Tigers know it won't be easy in Champaign. Only three years ago they entered the title game with an unbeaten record hoping to repeat as champions.
Lake Zurich thwarted that dream, and the familiarity of that moment isn't lost on this year's team. WW South is determined not to let that piece of history repeat itself.
The Tigers have a different history in mind.
“There was a lot of pressure on us in 2007, and I don't think the kids had the confidence they needed heading into that game,” said Tigers coach Ron Muhitch. “This is a different group with a different mindset. These guys thrive on that big-game pressure.”