Willowbrook removes the wonder against Hinsdale Central
A lot of folks were wondering about Willowbrook's football team heading into the season.
Wonder no more.
With too many new faces to count, the Warriors stunned Hinsdale Central 21-17 in Friday's West Suburban Conference crossover game in Villa Park.
Graduation losses from last season's WSC Gold championship and state quarterfinal team might have caused havoc with the roster, but Willowbrook (2-0) showed the cupboard is far from bare with a gritty victory over a Red Devils (1-1) team coming off an epic win over Naperville Central.
Hinsdale Central scored about a minute into the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run by Matt Bobak to take a 17-14 lead. Bobak rushed for 180 yards filling in for injured starting running back Luke Skokna.
The Warriors responded immediately, marching 78 yards in 12 plays and capping the drive with Sam Tumilty's 19-yard scoring pass to Scott Tumilty that put the Warriors back on top at 21-17 with 6:05 to play. Willowbrook forced a three and out but couldn't move the ball either, giving it back to Hinsdale Central with 1 minute, 51 seconds left and no timeouts remaining.
On fourth-and-8 at midfield, Scott Tumilty stopped William Sessa 6 yards short of a first down on a pass from Matt Rush to seal the victory for the Warriors.
"Our team just had the underdog in us," Scott Tumilty said. "We had that fight, and we take pride in that. It's a great confidence-booster. We'll be ready to roll into Leyden next week."
Hinsdale Central took a 7-0 first-quarter lead on Rush's 8-yard pass to Braden Contreras. Sam Tumilty tied it early in the second quarter on a 1-yard dive, a touchdown set up by his 32-yard pass to Scott Tumilty.
Scott Tumilty gave the Warriors their first lead late in the first half when he snared an interception and returned it 84 yards for a touchdown. Zach Drescher's 35-yard third-quarter field goal pulled Hinsdale Central within 14-10.
"This puts us on the map," Scott Tumilty said. "A lot of the seniors from last year were at this game, and they told us to put us back on the map. I think this game did it."
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