Wheaton North pulls away from St. Charles North in second half, improves to 4-0
Final score: Wheaton North 34, St. Charles North 17
Records: Wheaton North stayed perfect at 4-0 overall, 2-0 in the DuKane Conference while St. Charles North fell to 2-2, 0-2.
Player of the game: Wheaton North running back Mac Murray. The senior scored two of the Falcons’ touchdowns and rushed for 130 yards on 24 carries.
Other statistical leaders: Adam Schilling caught two touchdowns pass for 59 yards for Wheaton North. Tommy Vendl rushed 49 yards on 12 carries for the North Stars. Teammate Andre Smith gained 34 yards on the ground on six attempts.
Turning point: Leading by only 3 points at halftime, 13-10, Wheaton North scored on its first two possessions of the third quarter to widen its lead to 27-10. In addition, by sticking mainly to their ground game with only one pass attempt during the drives, the Falcons controlled the clock for most of the quarter.
First-half highlights: St. Charles North got on the board first with a 34-yard Alejo Espinoza field goal on the North Stars’ opening possession. Wheaton North went ahead 13-10 halfway through the second quarter when Jonathan Clayton returned a North Stars punt 52 yards for a touchdown. The Falcons stopped St. Charles North's fourth down conversion attempt on the Falcons’ four-yard line with seconds left in the half. Falcons linebacker Sam Bellini tackled St. Charles North quarterback Dashel Von Qualen behind the line of scrimmage to force a turnover on downs.
Second-half highlights: Wheaton North ended its first drive of the second half with a 53-yard TD pass from QB Burke Neibch to Schilling. The second Falcons possession ended with Murray’s first score on a two-yard scamper. St. Charles North ended its longest drive of the second half late in the fourth quarter — 13 plays for 58 yards — with a nine-yard touchdown run by Von Qualen.
X-factor: Wheaton North offensive linemen Kevin Petruczemko, Andersen Walker, Charle Surber and Connor Weldon paved the way for Murray by opening big holes in the North Stars’ defense.
Quotes: ”I was very happy with how we performed in the second half by coming out and putting points up on the board because we really haven’t been a second half team this year. But tonight we were so that felt good,” Wheaton North coach Joe Wardynski said.
“All three phases just didn’t come together,” said St. Charles North coach Rob Pomazak. “For our special teams, the punt return was a big issue for us. In the second half the game just got away from us.”