Pell grants Wheaton Academy's wish

After finally erasing an 18-7 deficit in the fourth quarter of Friday's season opener, the Wheaton Academy defense needed a big stop from its defense.

What the Warriors got was even better. Senior defensive back Brian Pell took full advantage of his blitz assignment to not only stop Momence quarterback Seth Stevenson, but the two-way star also turned the play into instant points for Wheaton Academy, which used a defensive tally to secure the come-from-behind 28-18 win played at West Chicago High School.

Pell, who completed 21 passes for 275 yards and one score on offense, crashed into Stevenson on a wild play that turned into an 18-yard fumble recovery touchdown for teammate Louis Bianco.

"I got a late call for a blitz and I was excited because I love to blitz," said Pell, who had led the Warriors on a short scoring drive capped by Kai Libby's 17-yard run for a 21-18 lead with 8:18 left in the fourth quarter. "I thought he maybe had gotten rid of the ball just before the hit, but then I saw Louis running into the end zone. That was monumental. It was awesome."

Even Wheaton Academy coach Ben Wilson wasn't quite sure what to make of the play, which started at the Momence 43-yard line. After the collision between Pell and Stevenson, the football caromed more than 20 yards down the field before the 5-foot-10, 210-pound Bianco pounced on the loose ball and headed in for the game-clinching score.

"Brian Pell put a great hit on their quarterback. It was a big play from a senior," Wilson said. "I don't know if that was the Tom Brady Tuck Rule or what, but the next thing we know another one of our seniors picks up the ball and we scored."

For much of the first half it looked as though Momence, even without star running back Calvin Phillips in uniform, would be able to score more than enough points to beat Wheaton Academy for a second straight season. After the Warriors went ahead 7-0 on Pell's 17-yard TD pass to Jimmy Johnson, the visitors struck for three big plays to take an 18-7 lead in the second quarter.

Stevenson, who passed for 318 yards on the night, connected with speedy wide out David Clayton for 75- and 65-yard TDs, and running back Eric Newberg had a 46-yard scoring run as the Redskins tallied three straight touchdowns.

But the Warriors closed to within 18-14 at the half on the first of Libby's 2 rushing TDs, and the Wheaton Academy defense blanked the Indians the rest of the way. Pell had a pair of interceptions in the red zone, and Libby lost a fumble deep in Indian territory, but the hosts kept battling and eventually wore down a team that opened last year with a 46-25 shootout win over Wheaton Academy.

"We made some second-half adjustments," Wilson said. "We just didn't have a good game plan for No. 2 (Clayton) in the first half. He's a great athlete and we knew that, but he was even better than we thought."

Anthony Ritchie, who led the Warriors with 9 catches for 126 yards, said the team stayed confident even after Momence's quick-strike attack struck for the three scores. "Even then we felt we had it under control," he said. "They didn't have any sustained drives and that gave us confidence. This is a huge way to start the season."