WW South starts fresh
WW South spent a year waiting for this.
After 2008's first-round playoff exit stunned the Tigers, they were determined to replace that nightmare with a much better memory. Their new memory will be of a 61-6 victory over St. Laurence on Friday night in Wheaton in the first round of the Class 7A playoffs.
"Last year we thought we could do anything," senior tight end Dan Hohenstein said. "This year we were much more focused. We came out with a lot more intensity."
Last year's loss to Downers Grove North was foremost in the Tigers' minds.
"Before the game even started coach (Ron) Muhitch brought it up in the team meeting room," senior guard Nick Immekus said. "He was just talking about how bad of a feeling it was losing that game 8-7. ... We came in firing on all cylinders. Everything's working, we're a hot team, but last year was all in the back of our minds. We're just happy to get over the hump and make a state title run."
WW South wasted no time building on that new memory. On the second play from scrimmage tailback Matt Rogers went 61 yards down the middle of the field for a touchdown. He scored again from 1 yard out late in the first quarter, then two plays later Shane Dierking recovered a St. Laurence fumble and took it 28 yards for another touchdown and a 20-0 Tigers lead.
"We really wanted to set a tone right away, just get some momentum really quick and build off of it throughout the game," Hohenstein said.
"I was just like, all right we're on a roll, we're getting on a roll and we're not stopping," Immekus added. "We put up 61 points again, two weeks in a row (the Tigers defeated West Aurora 61-0 last week). So we're on a roll. We're a team to look out for."
Then the Tigers' passing game got rolling. WW South began the second quarter with quarterback Reilly O'Toole hitting Steven Kmiotek for a 20-yard touchdown pass. Two minutes later O'Toole hooked up with Hohenstein for a 9-yard TD reception and a 34-0 lead.
"Coach built it up to be a really big game, but it was a lot easier than we thought," Hohenstein said. "We felt we could pretty much score at will."
O'Toole added touchdown passes to Greg McAndrew and Mack Tracey to finish the first half with a 48-6 lead. Julian Banuelos and Ryan Crowe added second-half touchdown runs despite a running clock.
Next week the Tigers will play the winner of today's game between Shepard and Geneva.