WW South blasts past Glenbard North
Glenbard North's football team was supposed to give Wheaton Warrenville South its biggest challenge of the season.
The Panthers did. For a quarter.
Quickly erasing an early deficit, WW South rolled to a 49-6 victory over previously unbeaten Glenbard North on Friday to seal a share of the DuPage Valley Conference title.
Like the pattern in many of their games this season, the host Tigers (8-0, 6-0) were sluggish early and then blitzed their opponent in the second quarter.
Bolstered by two turnovers, they outscored the Panthers (7-1, 5-1) 28-0 in just over 10 minutes. The barrage ended in a bizarre way when Adam Dansdill ripped the ball from a Glenbard North kick returner's hands and returned it the other way for a 24-yard Tigers touchdown and a 28-6 halftime lead.
“Our game plan was to get off to a fast start, and we didn't do that, said Tigers quarterback Reilly O'Toole. “We knew we'd have a tough challenge, and they came out strong. As the game went on I got more comfortable and the receivers just kept on making plays.
O'Toole completed 13 of 20 passes for 193 yards and 3 touchdowns. Two touchdowns went to Travis Kern, who had 8 catches for 137 yards.
Glenbard North dominated the first quarter by running 21 offensive plays to only 5 by the Tigers. With six seconds left in the quarter, Panthers quarterback Mark Ng threw a 5-yard touchdown pass to Mark Szwan for a brief 6-0 lead.
The Panthers' plan to extend drives and keep O'Toole off the field was working to perfection until the second quarter.
“Obviously, the two turnovers right before the half killed us, said Panthers coach Ryan Wilkens. “And only scoring 6 points, you're still not going to get the job done.
Matt Rogers scored from a yard out and Tyler Cook added the extra point to put WW South ahead for good at 7-6. A 4-yard scoring pass from O'Toole to Kern made it 14-6.
“We need to work on coming out better in the first quarter, but that's something I think we'll take care of come playoff time, Kern said. “As of now the second quarter's working for us, and it's unbelievable.
A Glenbard North fumble set up the Tigers' next touchdown, as did a completion by O'Toole on a fake punt. O'Toole ended the drive with a 15-yard touchdown pass to Titus Davis.
O'Toole connected again with Kern midway through the third quarter, this time for a 15-yard touchdown. Patrick Garner scored on fourth-quarter runs of 1 and 32 yards to close the scoring.
“For some reason we explode on people, said Tigers coach Ron Muhitch. “It's a good offensive effort by us.