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WW South rolls past Metea Valley for first win

You could almost hear the collective sigh of relief coming from the Wheaton Warrenville South locker room at halftime Friday.

"I walked in, threw my arms up and said, 'Let's stop just for a second because this is a moment we want to cherish,'" WW South coach Ron Muhitch said. "We played very well the first half, which was very nice to see."

WW South, which had been close at halftime on several occasions this season only to see its opponents score late in the second quarter or pull away in the second half, led Metea Valley by 20 points at halftime Friday.

The Tigers finished the job in the second half, winning their first game of the season 44-0.

"I'm very happy for the kids," Muhitch said. "It's been a tough year for them, but they never quit on us and always played hard. They always come to play. They come to play Mondays every week … to their credit.

"And to Metea's credit," the coach added, "I know they're struggling with the same issues. They played pretty much without their starting quarterback and that's never an easy task, so commend them for their effort tonight."

Metea Valley (0-7, 0-7 DuPage Valley Conference) started sophomore Patrick Straub for injured senior Garrett Despot. Straub and the Mustangs struggled early against a swarming WW South defense, and the Tigers' offense took advantage of great field position.

WW South (1-6, 1-6) scored on its first possession when quarterback Zach Harris found Jacob Odom from 32 yards out. The Tigers extended the lead to 20-0 on runs of 8 and 19 yards by Ryan Young, who finished with 211 yards and 4 touchdowns.

The Tigers' first two drives covered just 39 and 27 yards.

"We're a band of brothers," Young said. "We've known each other for so long. We never get down on ourselves. The coaches always preach to stay together. We do team activities during the summer. We just understand we can't give up and we're not going to give up."

Jack Olsen's 38-yard field goal pushed the lead to 23-0 less than three minutes into the second half, and touchdown runs of 46 and 9 yards by Young and Ryan Wilhelm's 2-yard plunge completed the scoring.

"We've been working to put it all together and play together as a team in all three facets - offense, defense, special teams," said Harris, who completed 11 of 18 passes for 134 yards. "It feels real good to finally put it all together for the 'W.'"

Straub was 10 of 29 for 71 yards in his varsity debut for Metea Valley.

"The offensive line did a good job tonight, our defense did a really good job tonight," Muhitch said. "Our defense has been stretched and challenged in so many games. There's no easy games in the DVC, so we're going to enjoy this one."

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