Waubonsie Valley ready for playoffs
After five straight weeks of playing in rain, cold and muck, you'd think a football team would say enough's enough and start preparing for an indoor winter sport.
But when a win means another chance to take Mother Nature's best shot, nobody is ready to turn the equipment in, no matter how bad the weather. Waubonsie Valley overcame Friday night's persistent rain squalls and flag-stiffening wind to post a 42-6 Upstate Eight Conference victory over East Aurora. The win was the Warriors' sixth of the season and punched their ticket to a Class 8A opening-round playoff contest next week against an opponent to be determined.
"I tell the guys all the time it's all about if you love the game of football it doesn't matter what the weather is," said Warriors coach Paul Murphy. "This is the only (IHSA) sport you have to qualify to get in. We played one of the toughest schedules in school history, we got our six wins and now we get to see who they pair us with."
Three weeks ago, worrying about who first their playoff opponent would be was the last thing on the Warriors' (6-3, 5-2) minds as they were coming off back-to-back disappointing losses to Neuqua Valley and St. Charles East to fall to 3-3 on the season. From there, however, they rebounded with defeats of Elgin and Lake Park before Friday night's playoff clinching triumph over the Tomcats (0-9, 0-6).
"Our confidence and our swagger is back, especially after the tough losses to St. Charles East and Neuqua," said quarterback Kenny Clay. "This is a great feeling. We had to fine tune and get ready for the playoffs. We just came out here and took care of our business."
Considering the conditions, it didn't seem likely that that business would include a pair of touchdown passes, but that's exactly how Clay capped Waubonsie's first two possessions of the evening, finding Mark Szott from 31 yards out and Eric Josupait from 14 yards away for a 14-0 lead after one quarter. The ground game took over in the second quarter with Clay, Maurice Bowman and Tyree Dickerson all rambling into the end zone for a 35-0 halftime edge.
Meanwhile, the Warriors defense, despite the best efforts of East running back Tinard Thompson, held the Tomcats to 69 total yards in the first half. When backup quarterback Tommy Kolzow capped the first possession of the third quarter with a 6-yard TD run, the game's final 20 minutes were destined to be played with a running clock.
Thompson did get the Tomcats on the board with nine minutes to play when he broke loose for a 60-yard scoring sprint.
"If we play the way we've been playing the past few weeks, we can play with anyone," Murphy said with a glance at the playoff road ahead. "I feel we're a good team now and we get to show it next week."
Come rain or shine.