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Robinson, Waubonsie Valley stun Hinsdale Central

Waubonsie Valley junior Chuck Robinson was happy to take a knee and grab a rest.

"I'm real tired," Robinson said No. 31-seeded Waubonsie Valley's 33-23 victory at No. 2 Hinsdale Central on Saturday in the first round of the Class 8A football playoffs. "I gave it all my all."

He gave a lot. Playing in all three phases, Robinson caught 6 passes for 214 yards and 4 touchdowns, recovered a fumble and knocked down a fourth-quarter Hinsdale Central pass in the end zone that teammate Josh Dominiak dove to intercept.

"He's a dynamite football player," Waubonsie Valley coach Paul Murphy said. "He's playing both ways. Half the time he's gassed and he's still giving us 110 percent."

"He just made plays," Hinsdale Central coach Dan Hartman added. "Any big, crucial moment of the game, whether it was offense or defense, he made a play. We had two guys on him at some points, he just went up and got the ball. There was no blown coverages or anything like that."

The Warriors (6-4) will play at No. 18 Lincoln-Way East (8-2) next Saturday.

It was an upset by the seeds but not a surprise, considering the Warriors went to the semifinals last year as a No. 30 seed.

"It's the (DuPage Valley Conference)," said Waubonsie Valley coach Paul Murphy. "You're playing nine weeks in a row where you're beating the heck out of (each other). Every game is a playoff game. I don't care if Naperville Central, Wheaton South, Lake Park and Metea didn't make the playoffs. ... We played nine playoff games during the season just to survive."

Waubonsie Valley got off to a great start, taking a 14-0 first-quarter lead when quarterback Tanner Westwood connected with Robinson for a 34-yard touchdown pass, then followed that Robinson fumble recovery with a 4-yard TD run.

Hinsdale Central (9-1) responded with a 16-yard TD run from quarterback Josh Bean and a 55-yard touchdown pass from Bean to wideout Garrett Oakey.

Hinsdale Central took a 21-20 lead midway through the fourth quarter on Bean's 4-yard run, but Waubonsie Valley wasted no time responding. Again Westwood looked for Robinson, this time on the very next play from scrimmage, and he found his 6-foot-4 junior tight end for a 65-yard catch and run. That touchdown gave the Warriors a 26-21 lead with 7:33 to play.

"That was a big momentum swing for us," Robinson said. "It was something to get our defense pumped up about."

The Warriors' junior quarterback attempted only three second-half passes, connecting with Robinson for touchdowns of 56, 65 and 11 yards. He finished 9-of-16 passing for 246 yards, with 4 TDs passing and 1 rushing.

"Tanner stood in there with patience, found him, hit him on the dead run and then Chuck did the rest," Murphy said.

Follow Orrin on Twitter @Orrin_Schwarz

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