Wheaton Academy beats Aurora Central Catholic for 6th win
Wheaton Academy didn't want to take any chances this time around.
A year after winning 5 games but being the last team left out of the playoffs, the Warriors made sure history didn't repeat itself with a convincing 33-14 win at Aurora Central Catholic Friday night for their sixth victory.
When the pairings are unveiled Saturday night, Wheaton Academy will see its name for the first time since 2009.
"It's huge for our program," Warriors coach Brad Thornton said. "This is a signature win, a signature moment and we feel we are on the cusp of starting something special here.
"We were the first team out last year and didn't want to see that again. Now we don't have to."
Wheaton Academy (6-3, 2-3) dominated the game despite 4 turnovers.
The Warriors moved the chains all night with a 25-8 edge in first downs and 459-253 in yards.
Chase Martin did much of the work, carrying 23 times for 207 yards and 2 touchdowns behind a line anchored by senior center Dave McDonell.
"My line made it easy for me all game," Martin said. "They made big holes for me to run through and then I was able to get to the secondary and that helped a lot.
"This has been our dream the past three years and it's just been an amazing season. We knew we were going to achieve this goal from the beginning."
Aurora Central Catholic (3-6, 1-4) put a scare into the Warriors early, holding on downs on the opening possession and then springing Ryan Cerza on a 67-yard run. That set up Danny Lagatao for a 14-yard touchdown run two plays later and a 7-0 lead.
Martin's 5-yard run cut the Chargers' lead to 7-6, and Grady Crawford gave the Warriors the lead for good at 13-7 with a 25-yard interception return with 2:50 left in the first quarter.
Wheaton Academy outscored the Chargers 14-0 in the second quarter to lead comfortably at halftime, 27-7. David Thrasher (12 of 25 for 179 yards) threw a 32-yard touchdown to a wide-open Harrison Taylor, and Martin raced 52 yards down the left sideline for another score.
Each team scored once in the second half. Thrasher's second touchdown pass, this one to Steven Sellers, made it 33-7.
Aurora Central junior quarterback Johnny Belskis found Griffin Zajac for a 76-yard strike for the final points late in the fourth quarter.
The Chargers gained 143 of their yards on 2 plays; the other 45 plays netted 110 yards against the stingy Warriors defense that now gets a shot in the playoffs.
"Two years ago looking at things down the road we only had 7 sophomores in the program and things looked kind of bleak for what these guys' senior year was going to look like," Thorton said. "But they recruited some guys back in the program, committed themselves to the vision we cast, and I'm really proud of them."
The Chargers can point to 20 returning starters next year and a sophomore team that went 6-3.
"We took this thing over in June and have two seniors starting on the whole team," said Chargers coach John Belskis, who replaced Brian Casey this summer. "We knew we were going to be young. We knew what we were getting into. We just tried to keep this ship as upright as we could this year. We'll be judged on what happens next year. The future is bright."