Wheaton Academy shuts out Aurora Christian to clinch Chicagoland Christian title

WEST CHICAGO – Wheaton Academy scored a pair of first-half touchdowns a little more than a minute apart, then put the game away with three touchdowns within a seven-minute span in the third quarter during Friday night’s 41-0 victory over Aurora Christian in West Chicago.

With the win the Warriors improved to 7-1 overall while clinching the Chicagoland Christian Conference title at 6-0. The Eagles slipped to 5-3, 3-3.

“Whenever these two teams come together, it’s a dogfight,” Warriors coach Jim Johanik said.

The Eagles took the opening kick and ran nearly nine minutes off the clock, moving the ball into the red zone before coming up empty following a fumbled high snap, combined sack by the Warriors’ Diyonnes King and Daniel Garcia, and bad snap on a missed 45-yard field-goal attempt.

“You can see that (the Eagles) schemed us really well in the beginning — they methodically moved down the field,” Johanik said. “I’m just proud of our defense. Putting up a zero against Aurora Christian is significant.”

The Warriors grabbed a 7-0 lead on a 22-yard touchdown run by Brandon Kiebles with 9:56 left in the second quarter.

Following Zach Moravec’s interception on the Eagles’ next possession, it took just two plays before the Warriors extended their lead to 14-0 on London Leflore’s 3-yard touchdown run.

Despite the 14-point halftime deficit, Eagles coach David Beebe remained positive.

“We felt really good at halftime,” Beebe said. “We had a nine-minute drive to start the game. We had the bad snap and sack on that first drive. It was the only sack we had, so I was proud of our linemen.”

Senior quarterback Nathan Downey capped a 3-play, 52-yard drive with a 16-yard touchdown run on the Warriors’ opening possession of the second half to make it 20-0.

“The offensive line was the key,” Downey said. “It’s coming together very well. We’re able to pound the mark, and we have a lot of offensive weapons.”

Three minutes later, senior linebacker Jeremy Johanik helped seal the deal with his 46-yard interception for a touchdown and 27-0 lead.

“It was a rush of emotion,” Jeremy Johanik said of his Senior Night pick-6. “It was thrown right to me, and it felt great. Obviously, the best part is celebrating with the guys afterward.”

“Our defensive coaches put our kids in the right spots,” said Warriors coach Jim Johanik. “These guys run a lot of formations, so it was a lot of game planning. Jeremy happened to be in the right spot at the right time.”

Downey’s 6-yard touchdown pass to Jake Weston and Leflore’s 11-yard touchdown run, his second of the game, closed out the scoring.

“This is the momentum we want to see going into the playoffs,” the coach said.

Eagles junior quarterback Asa Johnson completed 21 of 32 passes for 115 yards, while senior receiver Jonan Miceli caught 7 passes for 53 yards.

“When you come into a game like this, you know you can’t make a lot of mistakes,” Beebe said. “You can’t turn the ball over, and you need some turnovers. We didn’t do any of those.”

https://www.dailyherald.com/20241018/prep-football/wheaton-academy-clinches-conference-championship-with-big-win-over-aurora-christian/