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WW South enjoys familiar feeling

West Aurora coach Nate Eimer declared Friday night that Wheaton Warrenville South has a chance to win another state championship.

Among the reasons for his sentiment? The way the Tigers bring a similar effort every week.

On a night when WW South could have basked in last week’s win over Wheaton North or contemplated its upcoming battles with the Naperville schools, the Tigers scored 5 touchdowns in the opening 21 minutes to trigger a 42-7 DuPage Valley Conference victory at Grange Field in Wheaton.

Running backs Isaiah Campos and Zack Moberg dashed for two touchdowns apiece as WW South (4-0, 2-0) lived up to its No. 5 ranking in Class 7A.

Moberg finished with 114 yards on 7 carries while Campos posted 70 yards on his 9 first-half carries.

“I’ve got two senior warhorses who are tough, hard runners,” said WW South coach Ron Muhitch. “And they’re fast. They’re good sweep runners and they can cut. They sense it and get people in front of them and cut back against the grain.”

But the Tigers rushing attack was only part of the story. West Aurora (1-3, 0-2) trotted out a slew of formations while altering Jonathon Doyle and third-year starter Quintez Jones at quarterback, but WW South wasn’t fazed.

The Tigers allowed 106 total yards for the game — and minus-4 on West Aurora’s first four drives as the hosts raced out to a 21-0 lead.

Defensive tackle Mocha Uchiyama, a 5-foot-7, 195-pound bulldog, set the tone with a 4-yard tackle for loss on the game’s second play.

Uchiyama added his sixth sack of the season later in the half as he and 267-pound nose guard Anthony Melton controlled the middle.

“We knew they had a third-year quarterback (Jones) who runs harder than probably anybody we’ve seen before,” Uchiyama said. “They also had a running back (Isaiah Ruffin) that ran pretty hard, so we knew we had to focus in practice and come out and execute and I think we did it pretty well.”

WW South also stacked up big yards in the return game. Keishawn Watson returned three first-quarter punts for 63 yards and Moberg added punt returns of 38 and 41 yards in the first half.

The Blackhawks walked away with Drake Spears’ diving interception in the end zone to close out the first half, DeQuan Cross’ 52-yard kickoff return and Doyle’s 2-yard touchdown sneak with 1:30 to play.

“It’s actually more positive than what I’ve seen the last two weeks,” Eimer said. “There were some things we did better tonight. Our kids didn’t quit. I know this is a tough pill to swallow right now for myself and the kids, but we’re going to get better.”

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