Stevenson has Warren's number again

With as much mud that was on Mark Weisman's white jersey, Stevenson coach Bill Mitz could have just as easily been searching for the number 43 that was stretched across his big fullback's chest.

It was completely covered in black and nearly impossible to see. Even up close.

But as Mitz tugged playfully at Weisman on Friday night, he said he was actually looking for the 'S."

Not 'S" for Stevenson, though.

"The 'S' on his chest would be for Superman," Mitz said giddily. "Mark Weisman is a heck of a player. How many times did he even carry (the ball) anyway?"

Well, that would also be 43, seemingly the number of the night.

Neither mud, slop, rain nor the Warren defense could prevent Weisman from nearly breaking his own personal record for carries in a game. In another yeoman-like effort that was reminiscent of his 275-yard, 46-carry effort against Lake Forest earlier this season, Weisman rolled up 233 yards and scored 4 touchdowns to lead visiting Stevenson to a 26-14 North Suburban Conference Lake Division victory.

Stevenson polishes off a sparkling 9-0 regular season and a 6-0 mark in the Lake that translates to the outright Lake Division title.

Ironically, the last time the Patriots won the Lake title, in 2005, they did so on Warren's home field.

Warren, which would have won a share of the Lake title with a win, drops to 7-2 overall and 4-2 in the division.

"You can't get better than this," said Weisman, a senior who will be playing at Air Force next fall. "I can't even describe it in words. It's just unbelievable to be undefeated and a conference champion. Now we move on to next week (to play in the playoffs)."

Weisman set the tone early by carrying the ball nine times on the Patriots' opening, 11-play drive. He capped it off with a 10-yard touchdown run to put Stevenson on the board with 6:45 left in the first quarter.

By halftime, Weisman had rolled up 22 carries for 107 yards and added another touchdown (3 yards) that gave Stevenson a 12-7 lead.

"You don't think about it," Weisman said of the difficulty of maintaining footing and balance while running on the slick, wet mud. "If you think about it, you're going to slip. You just run your normal way. It wasn't too bad."

But how bad will the aches and pains be on Saturday after so many reps?

"I'll feel it tomorrow," Weisman said with a laugh. "But I usually get a pretty good workload. Whatever coach gives me, I'll do."

Weisman scored another touchdown at the beginning of the third quarter, just two minutes after the Stevenson defense halted Warren's opening drive by intercepting a pass on the second play.

That gave the Patriots what seemed like an insurmountable 20-7 lead, considering the conditions.

But Warren got a new lease when Greg Kennedy (16 carries, 105 yards) broke free and sprinted 40 yards for a touchdown. Suddenly, Stevenson's lead was only 20-14 and there was still 4:18 left in the third quarter.

The Blue Devils' optimism was short-lived.

Weisman struck again two plays later. This time, instead of conquering the mud several yards at a time, Weisman found daylight and did his own sprint, 52 yards for a touchdown. That wound up being the final score of the game.

"They (Stevenson) played a good, sound game," said Warren fullback Tom Lindal, who tallied 80 yards on 9 carries and scored the Blue Devils' first touchdown on a 29-yard run in the first quarter. "Weisman had a good game. I don't think we thought he'd get the ball that much, though."

There will be more carries for Weisman, and Lindal and Kennedy, too.

Both Stevenson and Warren are playoff-bound and should get very good seeds in the Class 8A field.

"We're still in it," Lindal said. "We still have games to go. We're not going to hang our heads for nothing."