Wheaton North wins at the wire — again
If the last two weeks are a preview of Wheaton North playoff football, Falcons fans best buckle their seatbelts.
Talk about a wild ride.
Wheaton North once again won a game that went down to the final play, this time turning away three Naperville North passes from the 6-yard line to hold on 14-7 at Rexilius Field.
The Falcons' win which came a week after Wheaton North beat Naperville Central on a last-play Reece Butler to Johnny Daniels touchdown pass guarantees the Falcons (6-2, 4-2 DuPage Valley Conference) a playoff berth.
“It's stressful, said Wheaton North's Andy Dietz, who intercepted 2 passes, “but a lot of fun. I just knew that we were going to come through and make the play to win it.
Naperville North (5-3, 3-3), which until that point hadn't crossed midfield in the second half, started its last drive at the Huskies 20 with 2:17 left. Huskies quarterback Matt LaCosse completed his first six passes in the hurry-up, and after an incompletion two more LaCosse passes, the second to Nick Sianta, went for 9 yards down to the Wheaton North 6.
That's as close as the Huskies would get. Three passes into the end zone sailed incomplete, the last on fourth down as time expired.
“Too late, Naperville North coach Sean Drendel said. “We got to play better than wait until two minutes are left in the game. We put ourselves in a position to not win the game. Our defense gave us a chance to win; we just didn't get it done.
In a first half that featured four turnovers three by Wheaton North Naperville North struck first on a 20-yard touchdown pass from a scrambling LaCosse to Craig Montgomery with 7:45 left in the second quarter.
Wheaton North drew within 7-6 on field goals of 39 and 27 yards from Marcin Gawlak, the second coming with 11:08 left in the fourth quarter.
On the first play of Naperville North's ensuing possession, Wheaton North defensive lineman Clemonte Dossie pounced on a fumble in the Huskies' backfield, setting up the Falcons at the Huskies 17.
Wheaton North cashed in three plays later, Butler finding Shaniel Katariwala across the middle for a 21-yard touchdown pass on third-and-14.
“That was huge, Falcons coach Joe Wardynski said. “As usual turnovers play a big part in games and they went our way in the second half.
Butler completed 15 of 27 passes for 156 yards and also ran for 43 yards. Katariwala caught 6 passes for 66 yards and Wheaton North's Montrell Williams recorded 10 tackles.
“We've done a good job of finishing games the last couple of years, Wardynski said, “and the kids keep their composure and they don't get too excited. They stay level-headed and execute what we ask them to. We try to put them in situations in practice all the time, we do situational things and it seems to be paying off.
LaCosse completed 14 of 22 passes for 129 yards and ran for 47 and Dan Pinkerton had 10 tackles and a forced fumble for Naperville North, also held scoreless in the second half in its last loss at Wheaton Warrenville South.
“In the second half we weren't on the field until the last drive, Drendel said. “Two times we've been in Wheaton we didn't see the ball in the second half at all.