Wheaton Warrenville South shakes off stunning loss, beats rival Wheaton North

WHEATON – Without a doubt there was a bitter taste left in the mouths of the Wheaton Warrenville South football players after last week’s stunning late turnaround led to a loss.

But the Tigers were not about to let that bitterness linger.

A solid week of practice was followed by a great effort on both sides of the ball Friday night in a convincing 31-6 victory at rival Wheaton North (3-3, 2-2).

WW South took advantage of a short Falcons punt early to grab a 7-0 lead on a 1-yard touchdown run by Owen Yorke and never looked back.

It was 21-0 at the half and 31-0 in the fourth quarter before Wheaton North finally got on the scoreboard when backup quarterback Jake Johnson hit Simon Kahsay for a 7-yard scoring pass that gave the home crowd a little something to cheer about.

The Tigers defense turned in one of its best efforts of the year and helped ease the pain of last week’s 37-32 loss to St. Charles North, which tallied a pair of touchdowns late to stun the Tigers.

“We had a good week of practice, a nice solid week,” two-way standout Kirby Christensen said. “We came in here with confidence and a fire lit under us with the tough loss last week. We knew what we had to do and we executed.”

The junior was part of a defensive line that wreaked havoc on the Falcons all night long, helping hold Wheaton North to less than 200 yards of offense while coming away with two interceptions and several tackles for loss. Christensen had seven tackles and a pair of sacks, but also had a 47-yard touchdown catch from Luca Carbonaro in the second quarter, one of three catches the tight end made on the night.

Linebacker Amari Williams was also in on many stops and Axel Boecker and Ryan Freeding were pressuring the Falcons quarterbacks on a regular basis.

“I was really, really proud of the defense. We challenged them to play their best football game and it showed,” Tigers coach Sean Norris said. “Our emphasis was on tackling and our coaching staff really worked their tails off and prepared a great game plan. The kids had a phenomenal response today.”

The Tigers offense benefitted from some great field position set up by its defense, but Yorke, the offensive line, Carbonaro and his receivers all looked at the top of their games against their rivals. Yorke ran for 121 yards and two scores on 26 carries and added an 8-yard touchdown grab to record his second three-touchdown game of the season.

“It was a tough week, but all of us worked hard in practice to get better this week,” Yorke said. “A huge game. The biggest game for our seniors, and our O line. I have to give them credit for my success and Luca and the coaches. They prepared us well and the scoreboard shows.”

For the injury-riddled Falcons, nothing seemed to go right on Friday. A 1-yard punt led to the Tigers first score and then an interception late in the first half allowed WW South to score again and take a 21-0 lead at the break.

“It’s very disappointing,” Wheaton North coach Joe Wardysnki said. “I know these kids are hurting because of who we just played … that’s a very good team, and I think they’re going to win a lot more games going forward, but we’re not playing our best version of Wheaton North right now. I think we have better football in us.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241004/prep-football/wheaton-warrenville-south-bounces-back-with-rivalry-victory-over-wheaton-north/