Schapen's big night lifts Waubonsie Valley

It was quite an evening for Waubonsie Valley quarterback Matt Schapen as the Warriors hosted Larkin in an Upstate Eight Conference crossover contest on Friday night: 7-of-11 passing for 279 yards and 3 touchdowns, plus a 3-yard TD run.

And then he took a break for halftime.

By that time the Warriors had a 42-7 lead over the Royals on the way to a 56-21 homecoming victory that improved Waubonsie to a playoff-eligible 5-1, the program's best start to a season since 2000.

The big play was the difference for the Warriors as Schapen threw 89-yard touchdown passes to Austin Guido and Eric Josupait, as well as a 44-yard scoring strike to Demetrius Gray all in a five-play span bridging the first and second quarters. Throw in Austin Lacke's 45-yard interception return to close out the first-half scoring, and it's easy to see how Waubonsie coasted. In the end eight players scored the Warriors' 8 touchdowns.

"It all started with the line," said Schapen, making his third start filling in for the injured Tom Kolzow. "I was able to see downfield and it was easy to hit my receivers. We all did our part and we all get a piece of the glory."

It was quite a different feeling for the Warriors after they escaped Metea Valley with a 21-20 win the week before.

"Execution, that was the difference," said Waubonsie coach Paul Murphy. "We hung onto the ball and we had a lot better focus that we did last week. They had eight or nine in the box and they wanted us to pass so we threw the ball. That's the first time we had that many big plays in a while."

It was actually Larkin (2-4) that had the game's first big play. Following a methodical 9-play, 59-yard drive that was capped by Devon Morgan's 11-yard run for a 7-0 Waubonsie lead, Larkin's Kyle Newquist hooked up with Trevor Whitehead for a 66-yard gain to the Warriors' 4. Two plays later, Brent Cooks plowed in from the 5 to tie the game.

After that Waubonsie had the bulk of the highlight plays, including Dan Brown's 53-yard fourth-quarter TD jaunt, though Newquist did find Whitehead for a 56-yard TD and Cooks, who was playing his first game at running back, capped his 101-yard night with a 3-yard run to close the scoring.

"We played hard and we had opportunities to get a couple interceptions and they went through our hands, but they're a good team," said Larkin coach Mike Scianna. "We wanted to get pressure on the quarterback and throw his timing off, but he showed how good he could throw."