Wheaton Academy lets its guard down during rout
There is no surer sign of a high school football team winning big and having fun than when an offensive guard or two line up at tailback and run the ball.
Wheaton Academy’s Theo Selvaggio and David Westfallen each got a crack at it because by then the Warriors’ go-to athletes had put the Suburban Christian Conference Gold Division win into the bag, beating Guerin 55-14. Played at St. Francis’ Kuhn Memorial Stadium in Wheaton on Saturday, both teams scored all their points in a first half that ran an hour and 35 minutes.
“It was a lot of fun,” said Westfallen, a senior guard and linebacker who sadly had his 19-yard run negated by penalty. “It’s always fun to be on the other side of a win, because in the beginning of the season we were on the losing side, so it’s good to flip the tables and put points on the board.”
A key stat in that first half was Wheaton Academy (3-3, 2-2) averaging 17 yards a play on offense, running for 226 yards and quarterback David Thrasher completing 7 of 8 passes for 164 yards and 2 touchdown passes, both to Nate Lopez.
“We lost four starters on the defensive side of the ball right away to start the game,” said Guerin coach Tony Pecoraro, noting that junior defensive back Corey Jones suffered a dislocated shoulder. “Then offensively we did some things, but you can’t score every possession, you have to eventually stop someone, and we didn’t stop anyone today.”
Wheaton Academy led 28-0 by 11:51 of the second quarter, a streak capped by Camden Meade slicing in front of an out route for an interception and 35-yard return for touchdown.
John Gemmel led off the scoring on touchdown runs of 10 and 14 yards. Guerin (2-4, 0-4) didn’t counter until tight end Joe Topping got behind the left flank for a 45-yard touchdown pass from Gators quarterback Tyler Flynn.
This came in the midst of seven straight Wheaton Academy possessions ending in touchdowns, plus Meade’s pick-six. The Warriors, who also got interceptions by Scottie McLean and Harrison Taylor, quickly countered the Topping score on Lopez’s 17-yard run out of the wildcat formation.
“Bringing that wildcat aspect into it is definitely something that I like because we’re able to throw with Thrasher, because he definitely has a good arm,” said Lopez, the Warriors’ starting quarterback till a mild shoulders separation in Week 3. “He’s working well in the pocket, he’s working with his receivers, and I definitely like where we’re at right now.
Meade scored his second touchdown on a 65-yard run, patiently following right tackle Chris Williams. Mike Silfugarian’s 2-yard touchdown run enabled a running clock and a large cast for the second half.
“We challenged our guys to keep getting better this week, keep taking steps forward as a team,” Thornton said. “I thought they did that tonight. We’ll see what it looks like on film, but I thought they took a step forward tonight.”