St. Charles East shuts out Waubonsie
For one night, statistics didn't lie.
While Waubonsie Valley's ground game was held to minus-34 yards, St. Charles East's defense also displayed an ability to pressure the quarterback, recording a season-high 6 sacks en route to a 21-0 victory over the Warriors (0-3, 0-1) Friday night at Norris Stadium.
Junior defensive end Jonathon Voytilla led the way with a pair of sacks and a pass deflection at the line of scrimmage, as the Saints consistently harassed Warriors quarterback Tyler Castro (12-of-29, 82 yards).
"We just stuck to our assignments out there," said Voytilla, who received plenty of support from teammates Pat Friel, Josh Spudich, Jeff Marsh, Phil Bucaro, James Sheehan, Mark Lindholm and Matt Payne. "It really all went well."
Two first-half touchdown runs by senior tailback Wes Allen (24 carries, 132 yards) enabled the Saints to build a 14-0 halftime advantage.
But that was just half of the story, as Waubonsie Valley recorded one first down over the first 24 minutes.
How anemic was the Warriors' offense in the opening half? Waubonsie Valley had more punts (7) than total yards (6).
"We didn't execute," said Warriors coach Paul Murphy. "Our receivers - it was like they were running in slow motion. Our linemen did a decent job and our backs weren't hitting the holes when we did call the run.
"It was a total breakdown of execution."
Allen's 26-yard, first-quarter TD scamper capped a 5-play, 63-yard drive that included a pair of Allen first-down runs and Tim Russell's 10-yard strike to Paul DeBor. Late in the second quarter, the Saints marched 76 yards in 12 plays while alternating quarterbacks Dan White and Russell with Allen supplying the finishing touch with an 8-yard scoring run.
Waubonsie Valley, which crossed midfield just three times all night, ran into additional problems after Saints junior linebacker Matt Payne recorded his first varsity interception late in the third quarter.
On the second play of the fourth quarter, fullback Kyle Wiebe powered his way into the end zone from 22 yards out to give the Saints a 21-0 lead.
With the outcome no longer in doubt, the question that remained was whether the Saints could keep the Warriors off the scoreboard.
After Mike Lyons' interception near midfield, Waubonsie Valley entered the red zone for the first time midway through the final quarter. But faced with a second-and-goal from the Saints' 6, a hard-charging Voytilla forced a Castro fumble that teammate Richard Hagedorn eventually recovered to end the threat.
"The defense was outstanding, as they were most of the game last week (against Geneva)," said Saints coach Ted Monken. "For a defense to get a shutout, it's such a huge thing. We knew rushing really wasn't where (the Warriors are) at this year. They were struggling in the running game and relying heavily on their quarterback to throw the ball, and our defense is designed to stop the run and pressure the quarterback."
On the heels of last week's disappointing loss to Geneva, the defending Upstate Eight Conference co-champions bounced back in a big way.
"We were all sick to death over last week's performance," said Monken. "Not so much that you lost but it was the way we lost. It's been such a long week. Getting back to this game, it feels good to get back in the win column."
Winning is something the Warriors haven't been able to accomplish yet this season.
"They beat us," said Murphy. "They outplayed us, they outhit us. We came out here afraid to play tonight. Why? I don't know. We didn't play with a passion, and when you don't play with a passion you get your butt kicked. We got our butts kicked."