Stevenson 'D' does the job against Warren

There is a downside to a defense that is just too darn good.

Not enough break time for the offense.

Stevenson quarterback Kevin Earl felt the pinch Friday night in Lincolnshire in a North Suburban Conference Lake Division battle against Warren.

Before Earl could even think about settling in on the sideline, catching his breath and drinking a cup of water or two at the end of one offensive series, it was already time to head back to the field for another.

"I was starting to get tired," Earl said with a wry smile.

It was a good kind of tired, in other words.

The Patriots' defense kept Earl and the rest of the offense unusually busy early on by relentlessly keeping its foot on the throat of the Warren offense.

By the end of the first quarter, Stevenson had picked off 2 Warren passes and had allowed just four Warren plays and no first downs. Time of possession for the Blue Devils: just two of 12 minutes.

The rest of the quarter belonged to the Patriots, who put up 14 points on their way to a breezy 24-7 victory over Warren, a team that has developed into one of Stevenson's fiercest rivals in the last decade.

With the win, the Patriots move to 3-0 on the season and start off 1-0 in the Lake Division. Warren, meanwhile, drops to 1-2 and 0-1.

"Defensively, we had a great game plan," Stevenson coach Bill McNamara said. "Our kids were very aggressive, they were in the right spots, they were flying to the ball and we were fortunate to come up with it a few times."

Stevenson's defensive backs hit the jackpot there.

Carl Miller and Chris Duffey each had an interception in the first quarter, three plays into Warren's first possession and on the first play of Warren's second possession, respectively.

"Right in the beginning, we knew we had them on the ropes," Duffey said. "Our defense was playing amazing, we pressured them and they were scrambling. They didn't know what to do."

The Patriots sure did. The offense capitalized on each first quarter interception with a touchdown.

Stevenson was already up 7-0 (on a 10-yard run by Joe Cassata that capped a 12-play, five-minute drive

on the first series of the game), when Miller intercepted a Bob Boesch pass. Three minutes later, Earl hit Stephen Salata for a 12-yard touchdown pass to give Stevenson a 14-0 lead with 2:42 left in the first.

This is when Earl's fatigue (wink, wink) might have set in.

Thirteen seconds later, he and the offense were called back on the field because Duffey had then gotten his interception. It would be his first of two interceptions on the night.

Earl (12-of-23, 167 yards) wound up connecting with Salata for another touchdown pass, this time for 32 yards, just 10 seconds into the second quarter. That gave Stevenson a 21-0 lead, which was the halftime score.

"The last couple of games have been big running games for us, so we've been waiting for a game like this," said Salata, who caught 7 passes for 112 yards. "We were waiting to open up the passing game. Kevin and I have worked so hard since winter on our timing and stuff. It really showed in this game."

Meanwhile, Duffey's other interception came with 5:26 to play in the third quarter and that led to yet another Stevenson score: a 26-yard field goal by kicker Matthew Micucci.

"I've never had two interceptions in one game," Duffey said. "Actually, I had only one all of last season. I'm pretty excited. Each time, I saw the ball coming the whole way, and it was mine. I knew it was mine."

To break up the confidence of the Stevenson defense, Warren pulled a gimmick out of the playbook, and it not only worked, it provided some hope.

Down 21-0 with 9:22 left in the third quarter, Nolan Sordyl threw a halfback option pass right on the money and connected with Mitch Munda for a 50-yard touchdown.

"We got some momentum when we threw that pass," Warren coach Dave Mohapp said. "We weren't getting much out of what we were doing, so it was kind of like we shifted gears a little bit. We changed the pace a little bit. We needed that. We needed that burst.

"But we couldn't answer offensively. If we could have followed that with another good drive, who knows how the second half turns out. "