Wheaton North beats Glenbard East

It wasn't the prettiest of football games for Wheaton North as it tuned up for the playoffs Friday night, but the result was positive.

Despite two turnovers that ruined scoring chances, the Falcons' fast-paced offense still put up points in a 42-0 win over Glenbard East.

"We moved the ball on the offensive end," Wheaton North coach Joe Wardynski said. "There's still some things we gotta clean up. The score was one-sided, but, as an offense, if we want to do anything in the playoffs we have to clean up some penalties and some turnovers. You can't put the ball on the ground and beat good teams."

Falcons tailback Patrick Sharp rushed for 3 touchdowns and 178 yards in the win that gives Wheaton North a 7-2 record overall and 5-2 season in the DuPage Valley Conference heading into the postseason.

"It really started with our O-line," Falcons quarterback Reece Butler said. "They created lanes for Patrick and he had a great game."

Running the ball was tough at the outset for the Falcons so to loosen the Rams (3-6, 1-6) up, Butler and the wide receivers worked the short sideline passes and quick bubble screens.

"The offensive staff saw on tape that we could get some short stuff on them," Wardynski said. "We wanted to control the clock and make sure we moved the chains to keep our offense on the field as much as we could."

Sharp scored on a 7-yard run in the first quarter to open the scoring before taking the Falcons' first possession of the second quarter in for a 70-yard sprint straight up the middle.

"The line was doing a great job and Reece was opening up things," Sharp said. "When I got one-on-one, I just drove my legs like the coaches tell me to."

Butler connected on touchdown passes of 25 and 3 yards to Richard Finley but also threw an interception in the red zone on Wheaton North's first drive.

"We got a little ahead of ourselves, but we have a whole week of practice and we're gonna get ready for playoffs now," Butler said.

It was a disappointing senior night for Rams coach Dennis Lueck, in his 20th year at the helm. His son, Tyler, will graduate along with 28 other seniors.

"They're a great group of guys and we're gonna miss them," Lueck said. "We appreciate all the efforts they gave for us."