Downers Grove South measures up against York
During the current stretch of four football seasons without a playoff berth, Downers Grove South has had its share of heartbreaking losses.
Maybe the Mustangs' fortunes are finally changing.
Behind three touchdown passes from junior quarterback Cole Warehime, the visitors hung on for a 20-14 victory over York in an important West Suburban Conference crossover in Elmhurst.
With each team hoping to make a return to the postseason this fall, they both saw their record evened at 1-1 heading into division play next week.
"We've come up on the short end of the stick in those type of games the last few years," Downers Grove South coach Mark Molinari said. "I told the kids that it would come down to one possession. We had some adversity, but the kids kept battling, the kids kept hitting. They never gave in."
Indeed, after York got within a score with 3:10 remaining on a 3-yard touchdown run by backup quarterback Patrick Cote, Downers Grove South didn't flinch and ran out the clock with a pair of first downs on the ground.
That put the finishing touches on a breakout game for Warehime, who saw action in a couple of varsity games a year ago before breaking his collarbone. He threw TD passes of 11 and 9 yards to sophomore Eli Reed and also connected with Richie Pecenka on an 80-yard score.
The junior threw for 138 yards and ran for another 67.
"This is going to give us some momentum going into Willowbrook," Warehime said. "They are a great team and have won conference the last two years. But we should have good energy going into next week.
"Coming out here against a strong team, we played well. Getting the win definitely puts smiles on our faces."
Rashon Murff also ran for 93 yards on 17 carries for the Mustangs.
For York, it was a matter of missed opportunities. The host Dukes turned the ball over three times in the opening half - an interception by Jack Meyer and fumble recoveries by Meyer and Connor Williams - while also turning the ball over on downs twice inside Downers South's 10-yard line.
Trailing 14-0 at halftime, they finally got on the scoreboard with a 1-yard run by Patrick Kastner midway through the third quarter.
"We again got off to a slow start," said York coach Mike Fitzgerald, whose team overcame a 13-0 deficit in a Week 1 overtime victory over Schaumburg. "But that's a credit to (the Mustangs) too. They played really good defense. They are a hard-nosed team and they are physical up front. But there are things we feel we can improve and get better on."
Cote totaled 48 yards passing and 47 yards rushing in relief of Max Assaad, who completed 9 of 15 passes for 143 yards.