Waldman picks up Waubonsie

There's a reason Waubonsie Valley coach Paul Murphy named Trey Waldman a captain this season.

The senior defensive back's 2 second-quarter interceptions stalled a pair of Oswego drives as one led to the go-ahead touchdown, eventually earning the Warriors a 35-28 victory on the road against the Panthers on Friday night.

"Trey's one of our captains and a leader in the secondary," Murphy said. "When we needed him, he came through. Any turnover the defense gives the offense is a good turnover."

Oswego led 13-7 at the 6:08 mark of the second quarter when Waldman picked up his first interception off a tipped ball. The Warriors offense took advantage of the turnover, going on a 3-play, 67-yard drive, capped off by a 53-yard touchdown run by Eric Josupait, giving his team a 14-13 halftime lead.

Waldman helped stall Oswego's next drive, intercepting Panthers quarterback Ryan West off another tipped ball at the Warriors' 4-yard line.

"We had a ton of penalties in a row and we just needed to get a stop," Waldman said. "It seems I can't catch a pass unless it's tipped, so I got lucky there with a couple of tips."

Waubonsie Valley took a 28-13 lead late in the third quarter with a pair of touchdown passes by quarterback Tom Kolzow. Kolzow found Demetrius Gray from 38 yards out with 9:11 left in the third quarter, and then found Josupait from 6 yards out with two minutes left to put his team ahead by two touchdowns.

Oswego kept the game close as West and the Panthers' passing attack held pace with Waubonsie Valley late in the game. A 9-play, 80-yard Oswego drive late in the third quarter was capped off by a 1-yard touchdown run by John Hugunin, cutting the Warriors' lead to 28-21 after the Panthers were successful on the 2-point conversion. West completed 5-of-6 pass plays on that drive.

Waubonsie Valley answered back with a 30-yard touchdown pass from Kolzow to Joey Storto with 5:51 left in the game to put his team back up by two scores.

The Panthers scored the final touchdown of the game on a 23-yard pass from West to Parker Meek with 4:03 left in the game, but the Warriors kneeled down in their victory formation to close out the game and move to 1-1 on the season.

"I talked to our guys about playing 48 minutes tonight," Murphy said. "We had the lead for much of last week (against Naperville Central) and we didn't finish it. Tonight it was all about finishing."