WW South falls to Maine South

Maine South's 17-6 win Friday night at Wheaton Warrenville South had some highlights, but was not highlight-filled.

It was an action in the trenches type of game and if you had the ball there was a good chance that you were going to get tackled by more than two defenders or get hit very hard if there was just one defender. It was a type of game that if you got a scoring chance, you better take advantage of it.

For almost 37 minutes, the Tigers (0-2) needed a spark. Somebody on the field needed to find a phonebooth, put on a cape and become a hero.

That person for WW South was senior Keishawn Watson, who answered Sean McNulty's 42-yard field goal with 11:16 left in the game that put the Hawks (2-0) up 10-0 with an 88-yard touchdown on the ensuing kickoff.

Against a team like the Hawks, one needs more than one spark and they just didn't come for WW South before or after that big play.

"We beat ourselves the last two games. We have had too many mistakes and penalties in crucial situations," said Tigers coach Ron Muhitch. "Maine South is a good team. But we are as good as that team. We need to act like it."

This was the type of game that wouldn't be loaded with scoring opportunities because the defenses stayed aggressive from beginning to end. The teams combined for 238 total yards at halftime.

The Hawks would be the first to score, hitting the end zone on their second possession of the game with an 11-play drive that lasted just over 5 minutes. It was capped by Justin Fahey's first of two touchdowns, a 19-yard run.

"They scored early and put the pressure on us," Muhitch said. "That puts more pressure on your offense to do things right."

That would be it for the scoring until McNulty's field goal. The Tigers got the ball back with 4:58 remaining in the game and trailing just 10-6. But Fahey intercepted a pass down to the WW South 4 and later ran it in from the 2 to put the finishing touches on the game.

Maine South coach David Inserra said that the Hawks' 36-35 win over Montini in Week 1 prepared his team for Friday as both opponents had similar traits.

"Wheaton South has great receivers and running backs and playing Montini got us ready to play them. You saw that kickoff return (touchdown). We can't run against them. It was important not to play behind. Wheaton South is an unbelievable team and we needed to be ready," he said. "Plays that worked against Montini did not work here tonight."