Wheaton North flying high

For a brief moment after time ran out and Wheaton North had beaten Naperville Central 14-7, it appeared that every one on the Wheaton North side of Rexilius Field took time to soak up the atmosphere.

And for good reason, as at the end of Week 7 of the regular season in the football stress test known as the DuPage Valley Conference, the Falcons had cleared a big hurdle to remain alone and perfect atop the league standings.

The school's 1981 team that won the Class 4A state title was honored before the game. Afterward, those players shook hands with current team members as history met the present.

The victory over the Redhawks pushed Wheaton North to 6-1, thus securing a playoff spot. The Falcons are 5-0 in league play. But life won't be easy for Wheaton North the next two weeks, as it hosts Glenbard North on Friday and closes out the regular season at Wheaton Warrenville South.

“We definitely still want to work hard. It's our goal at the end of the season to win the DVC, but we have two tough teams left to play,” said Wheaton North junior Patrick Sharp, who broke free of several Redhawks defenders for a 96-yard touchdown run to put the Falcons on the scoreboard first.

Wheaton North has returned to territory that it hasn't visited in a while.

‘”It's pretty exciting. We haven't talked much about winning conference. We have not been in that position the last few years,” Falcons coach Joe Wardynski said. “We've got two big rivals yet to face that we haven't played well against the last couple of years.”

While Wheaton North and Naperville Central (4-3, 3-2) did put forth periods of solid ball-control offense and eating up clock, the Falcons could be said to have won the game 2-1.

After a scoreless first quarter, the Falcons, who gained just 2 yards rushing during the first 12 minutes, found the end zone thanks to Sharp's determination to stay upright and break away from the Redhawk defense as he found open territory along his team's sidelines for a 96-yard TD run with 11:31 left until halftime.

“I got the ball. A lot of defenders were in my face,” Sharp said. “The o-line was doing a great job. I bounced to the outside and saw nothing but green grass.”

That remained the score at intermission. Wheaton North got the ball to start the second half and all was well until quarterback John Peltz's toss was grabbed by a charging Zach Borta, who dashed the 20 yards into the end zone.

“Zach's a great athlete and a great player and that play got us back into the game,” said Naperville Central coach Mike Stine. “Our defense kept battling and kept us in the game. The offense didn't make plays often enough, and that has to change.”

Late in the third quarter, Peltz threw to Johnny Daniels, who leaped over one last Redhawks defender to grab the ball and put the finishing touches on a 46-yard touchdown pass play.

Central got the ball back with 2:28 left in the game and put together a sustained drive into the Falcon red zone, but the Wheaton North defense held firm.

The Redhawks have a big test of their own Friday against Naperville North at North Central College. The team closes out the regular season with a home game against West Chicago.