West Aurora can't hold halftime lead vs. Wheaton North

Wheaton North weathered the West Aurora second-quarter onslaught, and Reece Butler earned his keep spelling Ohio State-bound Taylor Graham.

Butler, the Falcons' junior quarterback, overcame a sluggish start with a masterful second-half display of poise to engineer a dramatic 17-point unanswered outburst that paved the way for the Falcons' 24-13 DuPage Valley Conference football victory Friday night in Aurora.

"We came out firing in the second half," said Butler, whose team improved to 3-2 overall and 2-1 in the league. "It was a total team effort. Both teams played great in the second half. It was a great ballgame."

Wheaton North marched 56 yards in six plays with the second-half kickoff; Butler scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 25-yard keeper four-plus minutes into the third quarter.

Wheaton North stuffed West Aurora star tailback Leon Spears on third-and-one on the Blackhawks' ensuing possession, and Richard Finley put the Falcons in plus territory with a 30-yard punt return.

"(The Spears stop) was a big play for us," said Wheaton North coach Joe Wardynski. "(West Aurora) had us on our heels the whole first half. They had made so many big plays (in previous games) on the perimeter, but they kept it between the tackles tonight. It was a good game plan by them."

Mekael Finley rumbled 14 yards midway through the third quarter to increase the Wheaton North lead to 21-13, and West Aurora coach Buck Drach said an illegal block on a long Spears run on the next possession was decisive.

"That penalty just killed us," said Drach, whose squad fell to 2-3 overall, 0-3 in the conference. "It was still in the third quarter. We can't make mistakes and can't overcome them when we do. I thought our defense played very well."

Butler connected with Hunter Thorson for a 25-yard completion that ultimately served as the linchpin for the final score of the game: a 36-yard Jeff Schalk field goal with 37 seconds to play in the third quarter.

West Aurora advanced into enemy territory on its subsequent three drives, but Wheaton North had the last of its 4 turnovers-a Ryan Coleman interception-as the centerpiece of its second-half defensive resolve.

West Aurora dominated statistically in the opening half, tripling the Falcons' number of first downs and doubling the number of plays from scrimmage.