Wheaton Warrenville South finds some second half offense and knocks off Wheaton North
Wheaton is famous for being the hometown of Red Grange, but Friday's crosstown rivalry felt more like a Dick Butkus or Mike Singletary type of game.
The first half was nearly all defense, but Wheaton Warrenville South was able to dial up some scoring in the third quarter and hung on for a 21-16 road victory, handing Wheaton North its first loss of the season.
Tigers quarterback A.J. Rogers had kind of a so-so first half, completing 5 of 12 passes for 41 yards and an interception. But he was perfect after intermission, going 7-for-7 through the air.
“We knew they were dropping deep and I was forcing stuff I didn't need to force,” Collins said. “In the second half, I took what they gave me, so I took my checkdowns and we were able to move the ball. This is great, especially for the seniors, they have bragging rights the rest of their lives.”
Leading 7-3 at halftime, WWS (4-2) scored on its first two drives of the second half to go up 21-3 on a 6-yard pass to Blake Ittersagan and 15-yard run by Malaki Thomas.
A couple of substitutes helped change the tone in the second half. One was Thomas, a junior with limited carries this season. He finished as the game's leading rusher with 9 attempts for 64 yards, all after halftime.
“We knew it was going to be a physical, grind it out game,” WWS coach Sean Norris said. “Malaki, he started running really hard downhill, and we just went to the hot hand. He was able to put the game away. He doesn't flinch, he's a really tough, physical kid.”
Wheaton North was starting a backup quarterback, junior Rory Burke, then switched to sophomore Grant Neibch, who saw his first varsity action. Neibch was up to the task, hitting 9 of 12 passes for 93 yards and a touchdown. His older brother Burke is the usual starter.
“The plan was to get him in a little bit, and we were just kind of stuck and we weren't moving the ball very well,” Wheaton North coach Joe Wardynski said. “It wasn't necessarily the quarterback's fault. They did a really good job on their defensive front, I felt like, and we didn't run the ball as effectively as we have in the previous five games.”
The Falcons offense needed a spark and got it. Gavin Neiss went up high for a 19-yard touchdown reception from Neibch, then the Falcons recovered the onside kick and scored again on a 4-yard run by Mac Murray to close within 21-16 with 4:39 left.
North kicked deep this time and Thomas made sure the Falcons didn't get another chance by running for a pair of first downs.
Murray was limited to 33 yards on 16 carries thanks to an inspired effort by the Tigers defense. Junior Zach Turner was one of the leaders with two sacks.
“We're so close,” Turner said. “We all have this mindset where it's like, 'Stay green, keep going.' Nobody dislikes anybody. It feels like one unit out there.”
The first quarter included just three combined first downs. Finally, a flurry of momentum-changing defensive plays led to the game's first score. First, Wheaton North's Johnny Clayton intercepted a tipped pass in his own territory. But the Falcons couldn't move the ball and their punt was blocked by Clark Jensen.
WWS went straight to the trick play, with receiver Mason Bachara catching a backward pass, then throwing a 28-yard touchdown to Ittesagan and the Tigers took a 7-0 lead with 3:28 left in the first half.
North responded with a nice two-minute drill and Burke found Adam Schilling for a 36-yard gain to the 7. Ryan Chrusciel nailed a 33-yard field goal to make it 7-3 at halftime.