Wheaton Academy clobbers DePaul College Prep
On their first scoring drive of a 41-0 nonconference victory over DePaul College Prep on Friday night, Wheaton Academy technically scored three touchdowns.
It's just that the first two didn't count. After a scoreless first quarter the referees called back a pair of touchdowns on long Warriors pass plays because of holding penalties. However, the Warriors (3-2) played through the penalties, ending the drive with quarterback Ben Thorson depositing a 27-yard touchdown to his favorite target, senior wide receiver Noah Jones.
"The emphasis this week in practice was to get back to basics, get back to fundamentals, and bring a lot of energy," Warriors coach Brad Thornton said after the game. "I thought our guys came out focused, but we were just sloppy, which was frustrating. But it was good to see them overcome the sloppiness, keep it together and score."
That touchdown was all the scoring Wheaton Academy needed, but the Warriors put 34 more points up on the scoreboard just for good measure. All this despite three lost fumbles and 10 penalties that cost them 95 yards.
Senior backs Jacob Callentine and Joshua Schauer were a two-headed menace on the ground for the Warriors. Callentine dashed for a game-high 98 yards and 2 touchdowns. Schauer was efficient with his four carries, turning two of them into trips into the end zone. Thorson completed 8 passes, but six of them went for double-digit yardage.
The other half of the winning recipe was the dominant performance of the defense. DePaul starting quarterback Robert Clark finished with five completions that yielded just 12 yards. On the ground five Rams rushers combined for just 16 yards.
"It started at the line of scrimmage with our defensive line controlling the line of scrimmage, and it was good to see our safeties come out and help out in run support on some of those plays," Thornton said. "Great effort from them."
Squashed between games against Metro Suburban Blue stalwarts IC Catholic Prep and St. Francis that resulted in tough losses for the Warriors and a game looming next week against another strong conference opponent in Bishop McNamara, the matchup Friday against DePaul (0-5) screamed potential trap game.
Making sure it didn't become one was a point of emphasis this week in practice for Wheaton Academy.
"The focus was getting back to some fundamentals in practice and keeping the focus on controlling what we could control," Thornton said. "Last week stung (a 20-9 loss against archrival St. Francis), so the guys didn't want to have that happen again. It's cliché, but we were really trying to focus on taking it one game at a time."