WW South puts a hit on Glenbard North
Wheaton Warrenville South scored more points on Glenbard North in one night than the Panthers allowed in their prior seven games combined.
The Tigers' defense, meanwhile, held Glenbard North's vaunted running game more than 150 yards below its season average.
Games don't get more complete than that.
WW South clinched at least a share of its fourth DuPage Valley Conference football in five years with Friday's 35-7 victory over Glenbard North in Carol Stream.
A win over West Aurora next week would give the Tigers (7-1, 6-0) the outright title and mark the 12th straight time the DVC champion has gone unbeaten in the league.
"We just came out to play," said WW South offensive lineman Nick Immekus. "I didn't think it was going to be this type of game. I thought it was going to be a close game."
Thanks to a dominant offensive line and an even more dominant defense, the Tigers knocked the wind right out of the Panthers (7-1, 5-1) in the first quarter.
Reilly O'Toole, who threw for 136 yards and rushed for 68, threw a pair of first-quarter touchdown passes. One went on a 4-yarder to Mack Tracey after a failed punt fake by the Panthers. O'Toole's second scoring pass went 56 yards to Greg McAndrew.
The 14-0 lead held up at halftime as the Tigers limited Glenbard North to 61 first-half yards and 3 first downs. Running back Evin Natick returned from an ankle injury to gain 64 yards on 16 carries, but the Panthers' 79 rushing yards fell well below their season average of 246 per game.
Two red-zone fumbles by the Tigers, one that went in the end zone for a touchback, helped keep the halftime margin at two scores. The 35 points allowed, however, eclipsed the 33 the Panthers had allowed in their first seven games combined.
"We've definitely got some improvements to make in all three phases of the game," said Panthers coach Ryan Wilkens. "In special teams, offense and defense, we didn't execute well at all. That's what happens when you don't execute well against a quality team like Wheaton South. You're going to lose by 28 points."
Running behind a powerful line, Matt Rogers rushed for second-half touchdowns of 6, 9 and 2 yards to finish with 109 yards on 21 carries.
Ben Hester gave Glenbard North its lone score on a 24-yard fourth-quarter run. Tom Traficanti completed 16 of 21 passes for 162 yards, but for the most part the Panthers' offense remained bottled up by the Tigers.
"Our intensity tonight was as high as it could have been," said Tigers linebacker Tom LaBelle. "We really came out in the beginning and brought it to them."