Warren cuts it big-time against York

Perhaps it was the Mohawks and buzz cuts that made the Warren defense so light on its feet Saturday afternoon.

The Blue Devils shed some collective weight this week when they buzzed down each other's hair after practice as part of a team tradition for winning the North Suburban Conference Lake Division crown.

Then again, maybe the Blue Devils are just flat-out fast.

Whatever the reason, they were awfully quick to the ball-and to York quarterback Tom Judge.

The Blue Devils forced York into 4 turnovers, including 3 interceptions thrown by Judge, in a dominating defensive performance that paved the way to a 21-9 Class 8A first-round playoff victory in Gurnee.

Fifth-seeded Warren (9-1) will now face No. 13 Schaumburg in the second round.

No. 12 York closes out the season with a 6-4 record.

"Some people chickened out with the Mohawks, but we got almost everyone to do it," said Warren linebacker Kevin Robinson, who sported a Mohawk and (coincidentally?) seemed to be all over the field on every play. He tallied 2 sacks on the day. "I think maybe we were lighter on our feet.

"We also played with heart. The coaches tell us every week that it takes heart and that's what we had. We stayed together and kept stopping them."

Had York not connected on a field goal as time expired in the second quarter, Warren would have gotten a first-half shutout.

The Blue Devils gave up just 97 yards and forced York into 5 punts and 2 turnovers before the break. And Judge felt the pressure from the get-go. He misfired on 7 of his first 8 passes, one of which was intercepted.

"We stepped up on defense," said Warren senior Ryan Maguire, who starts at wide receiver and linebacker and had 1 of Warren's 3 interceptions. "We have a lot of playmakers on defense who made plays today."

One of those playmakers was Aaron Montgomery.

Montgomery had an amazing 60-second stretch in the second quarter in which he scored on a 2-yard run, intercepted Judge on York's very first play of the next possession and then came up with a little razzle dazzle on the next play after that.

Montgomery took a pitch from Warren quarterback Zach Shaw and heaved a perfectly placed 25-yard touchdown pass to Chet Michna.

That gave Warren a 21-0 lead with 2:04 left before halftime. The Blue Devils had also scored late in the first quarter on a 39-yard pass from Shaw to Maguire.

"I was real excited about that play," Montgomery, a former quarterback, said of the halfback option. "We put it in on Monday and I was ready to throw it."

Warren coach Dave Mohapp was pleasantly surprised with the result.

"Those things almost never work in practice," Mohapp laughed. "But you want to carry a couple things with you that you can use at the right moment to try to sting someone and we wanted to get that going."

York got going when Dan Johnston capped off a 10-play drive with a 28-yard field goal just before the break.

Mike DeBernardis finally got the Dukes in the end zone when he ran in a 1-yard touchdown with 6:12 left in the third quarter. That rounded out the scoring for both teams.

"It's really disappointing," DeBernardis said. "We just couldn't move the ball that much on their defense."

Judge wound up completing 15 of 34 passes for 151 yards. Running back Tom Lindal was Warren's big gainer. He rushed for 120 yards on 15 carries.