Willowbrook leaves no doubt against Addison Trail
The District 88 trophy is staying at Willowbrook.
With an exclamation point.
The Warriors' football team topped rival Addison Trail for the second straight year, this time with a 45-0 rout in Friday's West Suburban Gold action in Villa Park.
After being stopped on their first drive, the Warriors (3-1, 2-0) scored on their final four possessions of the first half. They also got a 90-yard interception return for a touchdown from Sam Tumilty, who snared two of the team's 5 interceptions.
"We just practiced hard, and we wanted to do something good and show everyone what we've got," said Warriors senior defensive back Jacob Entwistle, who had one of the interceptions and also caught a touchdown pass to trigger a fourth-quarter running clock. "We wanted this all year, and we've won it two years in a row now. We wanted it bad."
Willowbrook ended up forcing 6 turnovers in a matchup of teams entering the game with hopes of contending for the Gold title.
Quarterback John Taylor started the scoring with a 4-yard first-quarter touchdown run. He also finished with 208 yards through the air and a passing touchdown.
"We're a confident group and we believe in each other," Taylor said. "We know we're capable of doing this to every team."
Willowbrook running back Jack Jessen had 2 touchdown runs and carried the ball 16 times for 75 yards. Kicker BettyAnn Garrett booted a 22-yard field goal and was perfect on six extra points.
Addison Trail (2-2, 0-1) running back Nick D'Ambrose finished with 17 carries for 84 yards, but a fierce defensive effort from Willowbrook was too much to overcome. The Warriors led 24-0 after a quarter and took a 31-0 advantage to the half.
"The start was a nightmare," said Blazers coach Paul Parpet Jr. "That was the game. We were turning ball over almost every time we went out there on offense. You're not going to win any football games turning it over that many times."
Willowbrook heads to Hinsdale South (3-1, 2-0) next week in a showdown between the Gold's final two unbeaten teams. Keeping the District 88 trophy was the goal on Friday, but a new goal awaits.
"We needed to bounce back and play better," said Willowbrook coach Nick Hildreth. "That was the most important part for us, and it just happened to be Addison Trail week."
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