Line paves the way for WW South
"Last to fame, first to blame" - a phrase that has followed the Wheaton Warrenville South offensive linemen for the past two years.
The five men charged with protecting quarterback Reilley O'Toole and opening holes for the Tigers running backs rarely get much attention, but if the offense falters, they'll be the first ones responsible.
Wheaton Warrenville South's unsung heroes in the trenches at least got the attention from their teammates, setting the tone Friday night for the Tigers against West Chicago. Wheaton Warrenville South's offensive line bullied the Wildcats defenders and laid the framework for a 49-0 defeat of West Chicago on homecoming weekend.
"Our skill players try to get us out there as much as they can, and they give us a lot of credit," senior lineman Rocco Ammons said.
Despite running their record to 5-1 overall and 4-0 in the DuPage Valley Conference before squaring off with West Chicago, the Tigers had yet to find the end zone on any of their opening drives this season.
Ammons and Co. needed just 55 seconds to change that fact Friday, taking advantage of a short field for a 4-play, 38-yard drive that culminated with Matthew Rogers' 2-yard scoring plunge.
"It was really good for us to get down there on the first drive," lineman Chris Cortopassi said.
Wheaton Warrenville South (6-1, 5-0) bested itself on its next drive, needing just 3 plays to score after a Caleb Bednarz punt return set the Tigers up at West Chicago's 21-yard line.
According to O'Toole, Friday night's execution couldn't have gone any smoother.
"We have a script for every game, and we try and stay on that based on how we run our plays," he said. "We did our first 13 plays off the script, and we ran them exactly how we wanted to."
Already trailing 14-0 after two drives, West Chicago (0-7, 0-5) certainly didn't need the penalties and mental mistakes.
"We stalled on a couple of drives based on false start penalties, and we can't have negative plays against a great team like that," Wildcats coach Hal Chiodo said.
Friday's win allowed the Tigers to keep pace with Glenbard North, setting up a critical Week 8 matchup against the only other undefeated team in the DuPage Valley Conference.
Not surprisingly, Wheaton Warrenville South's success will once again hinge on the offensive line.
"We're anticipating a hard-nosed defensive line, and we've got the power and speed to get up on them," Cortopassi said. "We're going to have to be able to get off the ball faster and take control."