CONFERENCE STANDINGS
| SPORTS
DuPage Valley
WTL
Suburban Life • mysuburbanlife.com • Thursday, October 17, 2013 • CD
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Tall task for Tigers against Jackson, Glenbard North
Team W-L Conf. W-L
Glenbard North Wheaton North W. Warrenville South Naperville Central Naperville North Glenbard East Lake Park West Aurora
6-1 6-1 6-1 5-2 4-3 2-5 1-6 1-6
5-0 4-1 4-1 3-2 3-2 1-4 0-5 0-5
Suburban Christian Blue Team W-L Conf. W-L
Montini Marmion Aurora Christian Marian Central St. Edward St. Francis
7-0 6-1 5-2 5-2 5-2 3-4
5-0 4-1 3-2 3-2 3-2 1-4
WEEKEND WATCH Naperville Central at Wheaton North When: 7:30 p.m. Friday Where: 1 Falcon Way, Wheaton 2013 records: Naperville Central 5-2 (3-2 DVC); Wheaton North 6-1 (4-1 DVC) Outlook: With the DuPage Valley Conference race coming down to the final two weeks, Wheaton North finds itself one game behind conference leader Glenbard North. The Falcons will take on the Panthers in the regular season finale but must first get by a Naperville Central team that will come in with a sense of urgency after dropping two straight, including a 40-34 loss to Glenbard North last Friday.
Wheaton Warrenville South at Glenbard North When: 7:30 p.m. Friday Where: 990 Kuhn Road, Carol Stream 2013 records: WWS 6-1 (4-1 DVC); Glenbard North 6-1 (5-0 DVC) Outlook: This game will go a long way in deciding the DuPage Valley Conference race. Wheaton Warrenville South has recovered nicely from a Week 5 loss to Naperville North to post two straight wins, including a 28-0 win over Lake Park on Friday. Glenbard North is riding a sixgame winning streak and features arguably the top running back in the state in Justin Jackson, who eclipsed the 400-yard plateau in Friday’s 40-34 win over Naperville Central.
Wheaton Warrenville S. 28 Lake Park 0
By SCOTT SCHMID sschmid@shawmedia.com WHEATON – Jake Schultz has every reason to be on a high this week after his 41yard interception return for a touchdown was the perfect capper to a 28-0 shutout win over Lake Park Friday. But as the Wheaton Warrenville South senior defensive back and his teammates get ready for a DuPage Valley Conference showdown with Glenbard North this week, he can’t help but think back on a moment that wasn’t quite as memorable. A year ago, Schultz missed a field goal as time expired in the fourth quarter that would have given the Tigers a victory over the Panthers. Glenbard North went on to notch a 27-21 win in overtime. “This one has been on our radar the whole year, ever since last year,” Schultz said. “That loss stayed with me and it motivated me. You can understand how tough that was for me. I can’t wait to get back out there.” This time around, the two teams meet with first-place in the DVC on the line. The Panthers currently sit atop the standings with a 5-0 mark while Wheaton Warrenville South and Wheaton North are one game back at 4-1.
WWS top performers Passing: Ryan Graham 8-of-16, 135 yards Rushing: Isaiah Campos 9-81; Zach Moberg 15-80, TD; Ryan Graham 7-53, 2 TDs Receiving: Keishawn Watson 2-74 Defense: Jake Schultz INT, Ben Jackson INT, Noah Westerman INT
Erica Benson – ebenson@shawmedia.com
Wheaton Warrenville South’s Keishawn Watson blocks a Naperville Central defensive player during the Tigers’ Oct. 4 game. “We always have some great games with them,” said quarterback Ryan Graham. “It is always a dogfight. They have a great running back and a great team. And they always have a great defense.” The running back Graham mentioned is Justin Jackson, who will enter Friday with 1,847 rushing yards and 26 scores. Making those feats even more impressive is that, unlike the Wheaton North and Naperville Central offenses that spread the ball around, everyone in the stadium knows who will be getting the ball. “Coach [Mark] Jackson will prepare us well and we will have a gameplan,” Schultz said of the Tigers’ defensive
coordinator. “It’s always been, don’t let [Wheaton North QB Clayton] Thorson beat us, don’t let [Naperville Central QB Jake] Kolbe beat us. Force other players to beat us. “Our main goal is to stop Jackson this week. But he’s playing lights out and we have a lot of respect for him.” Slowing Jackson down thus far hasn’t been easy. Last Friday, he rang up 405 yards and five touchdowns in a win over Naperville Central. Last season, Schultz thought the Tigers did well against him and he still finished with over 200 total yards. “He’s a great runner and a real patient runner,” the senior said. “I think getting pres-
sure on him in the backfield is important and forcing him to cutback and then being in those cutback lanes. “That’s where he gets a lot of his yards, teams plug the holes but he has great vision and cuts back. We have to get 11 hats to the ball.” Offensively, the Tigers will look to sustain long drives, something that unit was able to do in wins over Glenbard West, Maine South and Wheaton North to begin the season. Against Lake Park, Wheaton Warrenville South was held scoreless until the second half, when Graham ran for a pair of scores and Zach Moberg added a one-yard scoring run. “It’s the same mentality we had those first three weeks with those three great teams,” Graham said. “Possess the ball, have long drives and finish those drives.”
8FOOTBALL ROUNDUP
Loss puts St. Francis’ playoff hopes in jeopardy SUBURBAN LIFE MEDIA
AURORA – Coming into Friday night’s matchup with Marmion, the St. Francis football team had hopes of getting back into strong playoff position with a victory against the Cadets. For a half, the Spartans looked like they were on their way. A strong second half from Marmion’s defense and a pair of Cadets scores allowed Marmion to overcome a 13-point halftime deficit for a 26-20 comeback win. Playing for their playoff
lives, the Spartans (3-4, 1-4) got a pair of first half rushing touchdowns from James Butler – including a 63-yard burst – that helped them open up an early lead. Quarterback Zach Prociuk added a 1-yard keeper with 21 seconds left in the second quarter for a 20-7 halftime lead, but that was the last time St. Francis would score on the night. Marmion’s Jordan Glasgow found the end zone on a 1-yard run with 9:21 left in the third quarter to slice the deficit to 20-14. A Cadets’ touchdown pass
would knot up the score before a 1-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter proved to be the difference.
South Elgin 63, West Chicago 20 The Wildcats dropped a 6320 decision to South Elgin on Friday. West Chicago (0-7 overall, 0-4 Upstate Eight Valley) scored twice in the second quarter, on a 3-yard run by Danny Lazzerini and a 23-yard scamper by Jordan Lelito. Parrish Benton added the final score on a 48-yard run in the fourth quarter.
St. Edward 60, Wheaton Academy 21 The Warriors’ playoff hopes were dealt a blow with a 60-21 loss to St. Edward on Friday. The defeat ruined a career day for junior tight end Marino Costello, who hauled in three touchdown passes from quarterback David Thrasher as Wheaton Academy slipped to 3-4 overall and 2-3 in the Suburban Christian Gold. Costello found the endzone on receptions of 72, 7 and 22 yards. Thrasher finished 13of-22 for 310 yards, and John Gemmel rushed for 65 yards on 12 carries.