Moore leads WW South past Metea Valley

Wheaton Warrenville South coach Ron Muhitch doesn't mince words when he talks about Cam Moore.

"I think Cam Moore is the best player in the conference," Muhitch said.

Moore played up to his coach's plaudits Friday at Metea Valley. The 6-foot-1, 199-pound senior had 6 catches for 215 yards, including touchdowns of 28 and 47 yards, and added 3 carries for 35 yards to lead the Tigers to a 48-27 DuPage Valley Conference football victory over the Mustangs.

"That kid is special," Muhitch said. "He's a good athlete, but what I like about him is that he's a consummate team player. He's an unselfish guy. He plays the game the right way. He plays hard with a lot of fun and a lot of excitement. I'm happy to have had a chance to coach him."

Moore, who sat out as a junior after transferring from Wheaton North, has not drawn much interest from colleges. But that should change soon.

"(Recruiting is a bit slow) because I sat out my junior year," Moore said. "But it was worth it when you have a chance to play for a coach like (Muhitch)."

Moore modestly gave all the credit for his success Friday to his offensive line and quarterback Matt Dohse, who finished with 11 completions in 13 attempts for 305 yards.

"I give all the credit to them," Moore said. "The line gave Dohse the time and we executed. Hat's off to them. I wish we could've won some of those close games we lost early, but stuff happens. We learn from it and we come out strong."

WW South (2-5, 2-5) scored the first seven times it touched the ball on a 1-yard keeper by Dohse, Moore's 28- and 47-yard receptions, a 1-yard run by Ryan Young Young's 57-yard run on the Tigers' first play of the second half, a 12-yard catch by Jacob Odon and Young's 44-yard dash.

Young finished with 162 yards on 19 carries.

"We were clicking," Moore said. "The last game we started off slow. We knew we had to come out tonight and throw the first punch. It was great to do that."

Sophomore quarterback Payton Thorne tried to keep Metea Valley (2-5, 2-5) close, getting the Mustangs to within 27-13 early in the third quarter with an 11-yard touichdown pass to Ashton Creal and within 34-20 with his 22-yard touchdown pass to Ben Loutsis midway through the third quarter.

But the Mustangs had no answers to the terrific Tigers trio of Moore, Dohse and Young.

"We were feeling great moving the ball on our first drive, but then we hit a wall and turned the ball over on downs," Thorne said. "That kind of killed our momentum. I put our defense in a bad situation (with a couple of interceptions). That makes it really tough to come back.

"But I thought we did some good things in the second half," he added.