Wheaton North dominates W. Aurora
Other than 10 infractions for 91 yards and a breakdown on special-teams play, Wheaton North was close to perfection Friday night in Aurora.
The Falcons’ football team is the lone undefeated DuPage Valley Conference squad after its 38-7 dismantling of West Aurora.
Dominating both sides of the ball with its precision passing attack, judicious running look and opportunistic defense, Wheaton North scored three times on offense and twice on defense to take a one-game lead in the powerhouse conference.
Wheaton North quarterback John Peltz was 11-for-13 in the opening half, connecting with Coleton Hrgich and Brett Kohler for respective scoring strikes of 23 and 29 yards to give the Falcons a 14-0 lead early in the second quarter.
“We were great on third downs tonight,” Peltz said of the Falcons’ offense that had to overcome several self-inflicted long conversions as a result of penalties.
The Falcons’ junior signal-caller found five different receivers in the opening half as the Wheaton North offensive line dictated play in more than doubling the Blackhawks’ plays from scrimmage.
But the momentum shifted in a heartbeat after West Aurora wide receiver Jonathan Gosong sprinted 90 yards with a kickoff return to slice the Falcons’ two-score lead in half after the Kohler touchdown.
“Finishing the run was the easy part,” said Gosong, who broke one tackle and deked out the Wheaton North kicker in sprinting down the right side. “We have been working on (kickoff returns) in practice. It was just a matter of making someone miss.”
“It was a huge concern coming into the game,” Wheaton North coach Joe Wardynski said of the Blackhawks’ athleticism at the skill positions.
But it proved to be the only time West Aurora (2-4, 0-4) dented the end zone.
Ricardo Gomez sacked Peltz to give West Aurora the ball back with a chance to tie the game, but Casey Blair deflected a pass on third-and-two to put Wheaton North back in business.
The Falcons had another time-consuming drive right before halftime as Patrick Sharp, returning from a two-game absence with a left-ankle injury, scored on a 12-yard sweep 40 seconds before halftime to restore the Falcons’ two-score lead at the intermission.
“The (offensive) line was doing a great job,” said Sharp, who led all rushers with 117 yards on 22 carries. “They were pushing the defensive line up front, and I just followed them.”
The Falcons’ defense rendered the second half immaterial.
Wheaton North harassed three different West Aurora quarterbacks all evening, allowing just 97 yards.
Brendan Dunlap and Luke Sahly returned interceptions for touchdowns to ice the victory for Wheaton North.
The West Aurora defense played spirited ball until the final whistle.
Gomez, Javonta Black and Matt Williams all had multiple tackles for losses.
“Offensively, we couldn’t get anything going,” West Aurora coach Nate Eimer said. “We had chances to sustain drives but couldn’t do it.”