Waubonsie ends long wait with win over Naperville Central
Austin Guido and Waubonsie Valley had to sit on the memory of last year’s painful first-round playoff loss for nine long months.
The Warriors will enjoy reliving this one.
Guido ran for 278 yards on a staggering 40 carries and scored 3 touchdowns, powering No. 16 Waubonsie Valley to a 34-14 season-opening win over No. 13 Naperville Central on Friday in Aurora.
“We definitely waited a long time for this (win),” said third-year starter Guido, who ran for 1,182 yards last year and is getting interest from Mid-American Conference schools. “It’s nice to come out and win this on our home field. We also made some history here tonight as well.”
Waubonsie’s first win over Naperville Central on its home field — second straight overall in the series — is the first step toward erasing the sting of a stunning loss to Belleville East last October, when the Warriors entered the playoffs as a No. 1 seed. A talented senior class remembers.
“Those nine months, those were a long nine months,” Waubonsie coach Paul Murphy said. “It’s a great senior class. We knew this group of guys was special since they were freshmen. They came out focused, and they came out ready to play.”
Guido ran for just 60 yards in last year’s 21-7 win over Naperville Central, and only 10 yards in a 0-0 first quarter Friday dominated by defenses. He and the Warriors offense were just getting started.
A 34-yard Guido touchdown run midway through the second quarter got Waubonsie on the board. The Warriors defense held Naperville Central to just 4 first downs in the first half, and Dylan Warden’s 7-yard touchdown pass to John Burke on fourth-and-goal in the closing seconds of the second quarter gave Waubonsie a 14-0 halftime lead.
Guido’s 11-yard touchdown run capped an 80-yard scoring drive to start the second half, giving Waubonsie a seemingly commanding 21-0 lead.
Naperville Central, breaking in talented junior quarterback Jake Kolbe, showed resolve. Kolbe’s 46-yard pass to Blake Butler set up a 7-yard Nick Thomas touchdown run, and after a Guido fumble Kolbe hit Jimmy Nashert for a 14-yard touchdown pass, making it 21-14 with 1:47 left in the third quarter.
The Redhawks’ next drive was stalled at midfield, and Keon Dantzler later picked off Kolbe at midfield to thwart another one. Kolbe completed 11 of 26 passes for 141 yards.
“Our kids battled back, got it to 21-14, and had the ball,” Redhawks coach Mike Stine said, “we just didn’t make a couple plays here and there. Waubonsie was the better team and they were the more physical team. That’s a very powerful offense.”
Warden’s 8-yard touchdown pass to Troy Fumagalli with 8:06 left in the game nudged Waubonsie back ahead 27-14, and Guido put on the finishing touches with a 1-yard scoring run in the final minute.
Warden was 10 of 13 for 88 yards, 7 of those passes going to his big 6-foot-6 tight end Fumagalli for 70 yards.
“We got some Division I-quality players,” Murphy said, and Fumagalli is clearly one of them. “We had 24 practices against each other, and it was time to play somebody. It’s a great start. Now we can’t get complacent.”