WW South not satisfied with victory
Wheaton Warrenville South coach Ron Muhitch said to his team, after it had beaten visiting Providence 23-16 in Class 7A first-round play Friday night at Red Grange Field, that he saw some good things in the victory.
First and foremost, and the most obvious, is that the Tigers will play another day. But that day next week will be a trip to Frankfort as the eighth-seeded Tigers (7-3) will take on top-seeded Lincoln-Way East (10-0), a 35-7 winner over Plainfield South. Muhitch told his team that a good enough performance Friday will have to be turned into an excellent performance if WW South wants to stop the Griffins.
“We had a great start tonight, but we could have scored more points,” Muhitch said. “It was not a good execution night on certain aspects of the game. A lot of kids haven’t been here (in the playoffs) before.”
It was a night of turnovers as WW South lost the ball three times on fumbles. The Tigers, meanwhile, picked off two Providence passes, and one of them led to an early touchdown.
The good start that Muhitch referred to was how his team moved the ball 54 yards on six plays during its first drive of the game with Dan Vitale capping it with a 7-yard run into the end zone. It was a big night for the senior, who finished with 219 yards on 34 carries.
Defense was crucial to WW South, and no where more evident as when senior cornerback Zach Kyllonen made a touchdown-saving tackle on Jack Klyczek after he gained 55 yards in the open field. The defense continued to hold, and the ninth-seeded Celtics (6-4) had to settle for a field goal for their first points.
“I saw him with the ball in his right hand and I was coming on his right side. I thought I would try to strip the ball from him,” Kyllonen said.
The Tigers defense was going up against Providence offense protected by linemen that weigh in at 275, 280, 282, 295 and 365 pounds.
“We knew they were big. The most important thing for us to fly to the ball, run to the ball and give up no big plays although we did allow some,” Kyllonen said.
Kyllonen’s interception put the Tigers on the Providence 13. WW South held on the first play, but on the second Vitale ran for 23 yards for his second score with 7:11 left until halftime. Later, in the second half, WW South’s other interception came from Adam Dansdill, and Kyllonen came inches away from picking off another pass..
“Providence has a great defense. They don’t give up big plays. Credit our offensive line for getting the job done,” Vitale said.
The Celtics got their first touchdown of the night when Chad Weaver wasn’t stoppped as he connected with quarterback Chris Salazar on a 34-yard pass play that cut the Tiger lead to 14-10.
However, with less than 30 seconds left, Jesse Padalik kicked a 22-yard field goal to put WW South back up 17-10 at the break.
The Tigers got the ball to start the second half and put together another strong drive as Vitale scored his third and final touchdown of the night on a 3-yard run after a 5-play, 53-yard effort.
WW South’s third and final lost fumble gave Providence the ball back with 2:32 left in the game and the Celtics scored a touchdown to make the Tigers sweat until they could earn a first down on their subsequent drive and eat the clock down.
“We’re starting to get a team mentality — offense, defense and special teams,” Vitale said. “We’ll prep this week like do for every game. We’ll do what we’re told and execute (against Lincoln-Way East).”