Banuelos fills void
Hours before Wheaton Warrenville South hammered Wheaton North 45-14 on Friday, Tigers football coach Ron Muhitch taught a Reacting to Emergencies Class that included junior Julian Banuelos.
The topic? How to deal with a choking victim.
Talk about bad timing.
With starting Tigers running back Peter Jarrett down for the season with a torn ACL, an injury suffered in Tuesday's practice, Banuelos was called upon to fill the void.
Banuelos had plenty of nerves already on his plate, so Muhitch decided to lighten the mood in - of all things - a class on choking.
"I said, 'If Julian chokes tonight in a starting role, this is what we'll do,' " Muhitch joked after the game. "But Julian's not going to choke. We all have faith in him."
There was plenty of faith to go around at Grange Field as the Tigers (7-0, 5-0) scored 3 touchdowns in the final 3:20 of the first half to pull away to a 35-7 halftime lead.
Pat Dansdill and Garrett Cook returned interceptions for touchdowns on consecutive passes, and fullback Mike Olp closed the burst with a 51-yard scoring run in the half's final minute.
"We knew we had to step it up big in the second quarter and put 'em away," Dansdill said. "We felt like if we could start getting some three-and-outs we could start getting momentum on our side and finish the game."
As three starters sat with injuries or illness - a list including receiver Mack Tracey (broken wrist) and defensive back Kyle Blouin (mono) - others stepped up to dominate an equally depleted group at Wheaton North (4-3, 2-3).
Junior quarterback Taylor Graham's out for the year with a broken ankle while Northwestern-bound running back Mike Trumpy continues to recover from a hamstring injury.
Trumpy played a half on Friday but clearly wasn't at 100 percent. He rushed for 26 yards on 13 carries.
A rough night didn't get any better for the Falcons after they tied the game at 7-7 late in the first quarter on a 5-yard keeper by quarterback Justin Swider, who rushed for 40 yards and passed for 101.
"We ran into a buzzsaw," said Falcons coach Joe Wardynski, the Tigers' former defensive coordinator who faced his old team for the first time. "That's a very good program, and our goal is to some day be like that. We would love to be as successful as they are."
That success now features a 34-game regular-season winning streak and a 26-game DuPage Valley Conference winning streak.
Even with key injuries in an emotional cross-town game, nothing slowed the Tigers. Banuelos, who had 14 carries for 52 yards, even scored the game's first touchdown on a 10-yard run.
Tigers quarterback Joe Furco added a 25-yard touchdown run, Nick Immekus pounded a 39-yard field goal and Dan Hohenstein recovered an offensive fumble in the end zone to cap the scoring.
Falcons running back Randal Ellison, subbing for Trumpy, scored on a 5-yard run late in the game.
Numbers didn't quite tell the story - 175 total yards by the Falcons and 269 for the Tigers. Big plays helped pen the latest chapter in the Wheaton rivalry.
That and a new group of Tigers players who showed they're ready to keep that victory train rolling.
"We definitely missed (Jarrett), that's a huge loss," said Olp, who had 80 rushing yards on 5 carries. "But the whole Tiger philosophy is the next guy practices hard and is ready to do the job. And when you get your chance, you have to make the most of your opportunity."
kschmit@dailyherald.com