WW South defeats West Chicago
Wheaton Warrenville South is right where it wanted to be.
The Tigers remained undefeated heading into next week's DuPage Valley Conference showdown with Glenbard North by defeating West Chicago 56-0 Friday night at West Chicago.
Though the Tigers (7-0, 5-0), tied for first in the Class 7A rankings with East St. Louis, couldn't help but look ahead to the Week 8 matchup with undefeated Glenbard North, ranked No. 1 in Class 8A, they suffered no letdown against the Wildcats (1-6, 0-5).
The Tigers scored on every possession in the first half, only once needing more than four plays to score. Quarterback Reilly O'Toole was nearly perfect, completing 8 of 9 passes for 140 yards and 4 touchdowns. He did not play in the second half.
"We didn't take this team lightly," O'Toole said. "We knew they'd come out and play hard like they do every year. They always come out and play hard. We tried to execute perfectly and we did that."
Dan Vitale, Ryan Crowe, Jason Schuman and Lucas Devick each caught a TD pass from O'Toole, and Matt Rogers added an 18-yard scoring run.
Defensive back Caleb Bednarz returned another punt for a touchdown, this one going for 84 yards. His backup, Jack Machalek, returned a fumble 2 yards for a touchdown just before halftime to make the score 49-0.
"It felt amazing," Machalek said. "Being the backup to Caleb, it's hard to fill in for him because he's a great player. But the Tiger philosophy is to step up when the other guy goes (to the bench), so I stepped up. It felt amazing."
Junior running back Patrick Garner added a 59-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
But the Tigers' focus remained on winning the DVC championship.
"I think it's real big," WW South coach Ron Muhitch said. "We always play for the conference title first. This year we got a little bit extra limelight with that nonconference game with Maine South (televised by ESPNU in Week 2), but it all leads down to your conference title. And I think the pride is that some of the best football is being played right here in your backyard."
Despite the loss second-year West Chicago coach Paul Reinke said he saw progress from his team.
"We continued to compete hard. We got a chance to see some of our guys stay in there a little bit," Reinke said. "The kids battled and competed. (The Tigers) are No. 1 for a reason."