WW South picks win away from Naperville Central
As Shane Dierking watched game film this week, his internal motivator kicked in.
"I realized they passed, like, 75-80 percent of the time," said the Wheaton Warrenville South senior cornerback. "When a team comes around like that I get excited. That makes me work even harder."
Dierking sure made it hard on Naperville Central, snaring 2 interceptions as WW South beat the Redhawks 24-8 in Friday's DuPage Valley Conference matchup in Wheaton.
Not only did the busy defensive back double his pick total on the season - accounting for all the team's interceptions so far - he also broke up 5 passes and had 8 tackles. The effort spearheaded a defense that created 4 first-half turnovers, leading to a 17-0 halftime advantage.
The Tigers held the potent Naperville Central offense scoreless until the Redhawks (3-1, 1-1) finally got on the board in the final minutes.
"It all comes down to a good week of practice, and we had one of our best weeks of practice," said Tigers linebacker Mike Heaton, who led the team with 9 solo tackles. "Just flying to the ball, that's how you create turnovers. Everyone being there and ready to scoop up a fumble or get that pick. That's really how we came out strong in the first half."
WW South (3-1, 2-0) fumbled on its second play from scrimmage, but got the ball right back when the Redhawks fumbled on their first play.
The Tigers marched 88 yards on 16 plays while using 8 minutes, 29 seconds of the opening quarter. Julian Banuelos, who rushed for 88 yards on 16 carries, eventually scored on a 3-yard run. Two more Naperville Central turnovers led to a Nick Immekus 35-yard field goal and a 31-yard touchdown pass from Reilly O'Toole to Greg McAndrew.
Naperville Central drove to the Tigers' 10-yard line in the final minute of the first half, but Dierking's second interception, this one on a tip, ended the threat. The Redhawks' fourth turnover cost the team valuable points going into the break.
"Against good teams you can't turn it over four times, and we did in the first half," said Naperville Central coach Mike Stine.
"Offensively we turn it over, so we're not on the field. Our defense, at times, we couldn't get them off the field. It's not a good recipe for us when that happens."
The Tigers took a 24-0 fourth-quarter lead when Matt Rogers added a 3-yard touchdown run. Redhawks quarterback Nick Linne, who completed 18 of 30 passes for 217 yards, fired a 12-yard scoring pass to Chris Levine and then threw a 2-point pass to Hayden Daniels to put the final at 24-8.
WW South quarterback Mack Tracey, who again split time with O'Toole, had 9 carries for 53 yards.
For a fourth straight week, both players had effective moments behind center.
"I've just got to keep giving our offense the chance to do what we think we can do as it happens," said Tigers coach Ron Muhitch.