Tigers are on the move
For two years Wheaton Warrenville South's playoff road has meant the short walk from the locker room to Red Grange Field.
That changes Saturday night.
With their 25-game winning streak on the line, the Tigers (11-0) travel to Chicago's Gately Stadium to take on Morgan Park (10-1) in a Class 7A quarterfinal football showdown. Other than last year's title game in Champaign, it'll be WW South's first playoff game away from Wheaton since 2005.
"They've got some great talent, and on that turf they can fly," said Tigers coach Ron Muhitch. "We're going to have to find some weaknesses with them."
If there's one thing the top-seeded Tigers thrive at, it's finding weaknesses in strong teams.
Last week against a huge St. Rita unit, WW South and quarterback Mike Piatkowski managed a terrific short passing attack that helped the Tigers rally for a 26-22 victory.
With tackles Will Matte and Nate Williams buying time, receivers Chris Schweighardt and Mike Sloboda combined for 17 catches and 217 yards as Piatkowski threw for 304 yards overall.
That type of effort plus a consistent running game from junior Peter Jarrett, who continues to fill in for injured Francis Adarkwa, will be needed against a stout defense led by 6-foot-5, 250-pound lineman Craig Drummond and linebacker Earnest Leonard.
On the other side of the ball, the Tigers face another offensive line averaging nearly 300 pounds a player. That didn't seem to bother WW South's defensive line last week, however, as Dan Cetina, Mike Riss, Matt Egan, Phil Traynor and Rahil Shermohamed created tremendous quarterback pressure.
The victory-clinching play, in fact, came on a forced fumble by Traynor that was recovered by Cetina.
Offensively, the No. 2 Mustangs are led by quarterback Victor Scott, who's thrown for 832 yards this season, and running backs Dominique Bell and Preston Griffin, who have combined for nearly 1,600 rushing yards and 28 touchdowns.
The big-play potential extends to special teams, where Morgan Park is extremely aggressive. Jeremy Johnson's blocked field goal last week set up the go-ahead touchdown as the Mustangs rallied for a 34-27 victory over Glenbard West.
Expect to see Morgan Park flying around even more on its home turf at Gately Stadium. Amazingly, 10 of the Mustangs' 11 games this season have been at home -- the lone exception was last week's game in Glen Ellyn.
Breaking its six-game streak of home playoff games, WW South will make its first trip to Gately Stadium since a 1996 win over Dunbar. That was a trip that eventually led to the Tigers' second straight state title.
"This group of kids has more in them than I ever thought they had," Muhitch said. "That drive goes a long way."