Loss makes long day longer for Muhitch
When Wheaton Warrenville South football coach Ron Muhitch arrived at school early Sunday morning, he knew it'd be a long day.
A 21-7 loss to Glenbard West that afternoon only made it longer.
After the loss Muhitch and the rest of the coaching staff immediately got to work on preparing for the Tigers' Week 2 game against three-time defending Class 8A state champion and nationally ranked Maine South on Friday in Park Ridge.
Hawks coach Dave Inserra attended the Sunday game to exchange film with Muhitch, and by 5 p.m. the Tigers were well under way with their coaches meeting. Muhitch finally went home at 10:30 p.m. after getting to WW South at 7:30 a.m.
By Monday, the whole team was back on schedule despite an extremely short week.
“It reminded me of the old Wednesday playoff format,” Muhitch said. “The kids responded extremely well (on Monday). I was very pleased with that.”
Right on:Last week's Waubonsie Valley-Naperville Central game preview led off by stating Waubonsie linebackers Austin Lacke and Tommy Wooten would be motivated after last year's loss, in which the Redhawks drove the length of the field for a late, game-winning touchdown.Evidently they were. Lacke, a junior, recorded 8 solo tackles with 3 assists. He made a sack, hurried quarterback Ian Lewandowski on another occasion, and recovered a fumble.Wooten, a senior, made 8 solo tackles and assisted on 2 others while causing a fumble.High-flying Fenton:Fenton's new pass-friendly offense, courtesy of new offensive coordinator Otto Zeman, was a big success in last week's 30-29 win over Leyden.Bison quarterback Sean Havlovic completed 19 of 34 passes for 309 yards, 4 touchdowns and no interceptions. Receiver Alan Geneva had 12 catches for 273 yards and 3 scores. While Geneva stood out, though, Bison coach Mark Kos stressed the depth of his receiving corps that he believes goes about nine deep. Expect to see many more players involved in the passing game down the road.Kos also stressed that this year's Fenton team won't be a carbon copy of Zeman's legendary Riverside-Brookfield offenses. Even though the passing game dominated last week, the running game is still a major part of the offensive scheme.#8220;We've not even scratched the surface with what we can do with this offense,#8221; Kos said.All in the family:St. Francis coach Greg Purnell rattled off a litany of Spartans who impacted St. Francis' season-opening 20-14 win over Riverside-Brookfield. Junior Jack Petrando ran for 128 yards, but couldn't have done it without the starting offensive line of Kyle Bosch, Josh Croci, center Alex Napoli, James Kalfas and Robert Dwyer with Peter Quirk rotating in. Purnell noted the blocking done by tight ends Jack Webb and Colin Baumgartner, as well as split ends Andrew Brundage, James Ferguson and Michael Hanson.They picked it up in the second half when St. Francis enjoyed two drives of more than 90 yards, one featuring Jeff Rutkowski's reverse run. Petrando and linebacker Hunter Bolin added 8 tackles on defense for the Spartans, who were led by lineman Steve Flaherty with 10. Purnell got a kick out of the second-half effort of defensive linemen Flaherty, Bosch, Croci, Peter Quirk and his older brother, Brian.The coach said this week's opponent, Vernon Hills, will provide a test on those lines.#8220;Win or lose, it'll make us a better football team down the road,#8221; Purnell said.Old school:Special guests from Palatine were not too upset by Montini's 26-21 win to avoid a postgame party with one of their own, Broncos coach and 1970 Palatine graduate Chris Andriano. About 30 of Andriano's classmates and pals headed to the room above Montini's concession stand for a reception. The crowd included his former Palatine coach, Arv Herstedt, and his Pirates assistants Tom Walz and Jim Robinson.#8220;We didn't get done till midnight, 12:30,#8221; Andriano said. They rehashed old memories, and Andriano received a healthy review from his old coach: #8220;He said you're doing a good job, keep it up.#8221; Andriano said: #8220;They were very complimentary of our football team and very impressed with our athletes. To a man, all of us said none of us could play anymore #8212; never in our prime could we beat out any of the guys who are playing. With age and experience comes wisdom.#8221;Westerkamp selected:Montini's all-state senior receiver Jordan Westerkamp, headed to Nebraska, has been selected to play in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl. Presented by Junior Rank and the United States Marine Corps, it's an East-West all-star game that will be broadcast from Phoenix on CBS on Jan. 3, 2012.Roaring offense:To be sure, Metea Valley coach Ted Monken was pleased the Mustangs won their season debut, 38-26 at Plainfield East. #8220;We had a great first quarter and a good first half,#8221; said Monken, who went to his bench with a 38-13 third-quarter lead only to send some starters back in.#8220;It was a good win because we played well at times, and it was a learning experience because we didn't play well at times,#8221; the coach said.The bottom line was a victory, with big numbers.Offensive linemen Tyler Janczak, Angelo Turco, Matt Schapen, Colin Colclasure and Mike Young protected quarterback Jarrett House, who completed 19 of 28 passes for 244 yards, 3 touchdowns. They sprung back Cameron Wilcox #8212; in his first varsity spelling injured Tre'Sean Mackey, who should return against Quincy #8212; for 8.3 yards a carry and 2 touchdowns.The Mustangs also got blocking from an unusual suspect: a receiver, Ben Hulett.#8220;Ben Hulett blocked as good as any receiver I've seen block in a long time,#8221; Monken said.Running wild:It took 32 years of coaching but Downers Grove South's John Belskis finally saw one of his running backs rush for 300 yards. Josh Williams ran wild in the Mustangs' 28-7 win over South Elgin, carrying the ball 37 times for 336 yards. Williams, a third-year starter and 1,000-yard rusher last season, is expected to see a bunch more carries the rest of the season.That doesn't mean, however, that the Mustangs exclusively will lean on the run. With returning quarterback A.J. Simoncelli, Belskis believes the passing game is in good hands heading into Friday's game against Lyons Twp. #8220;It all depends on what defenses will give us,#8221; Belskis said. #8220;We ran the ball 37 times last week but we could also throw it 37 times this week.#8221;Stunning numbers:York's 50-49 loss to Rolling Meadows produced some record-breaking numbers on both sides, although the Mustangs were the only ones celebrating.The Dukes set a program record with 590 total yards, shattering the previous mark by more than 100 yards according to York coach Bill Lech. York senior David Byerley set a record with 266 receiving yards, while teammate Jordan Preuss added 100 receiving yards. Quarterbacks Joe Lucca and Andrew Iwaszkiewicz each threw for at least 200 yards.It was a stunning offensive display, but the Dukes were left stinging after the loss.#8220;I guess if we're going to give up 50 points we're going to need 51,#8221; Lech said. #8220;We're just going to go back to the basics with our defense. We've got to make a play and we just didn't.#8221; 26761840PAUL MICHNA/Pmichna@dailyherald.comDan Beck of St. Francis moves the ball during the Riverside-Brookfield at St. Francis football game Friday in Glen Ellyn