WW South drives past Maine South
The Wheaton Warrenville South offense took 16 minutes to get on track, but once the Tigers got going they were mighty tough to slow down.
Visiting WW South needed just three plays to find the end zone in the second half to extend its lead over Maine South to 13-0 at the 10:28 mark in the third period.
After leading just 7-0 at the break, WW South found the end zone on each of its first three possessions of the second half for an insurmountable 28-7 lead.
The Tigers' defense took over from there for a 28-13 win over host Maine South (0-2) at Wilson Field as WW South improved to 2-0.
“That was a big drive (to open the second half),” Wheaton Warrenville South coach Ron Muhitch said. “I was really pleased with the way our offensive line. The line of scrimmage is a whole new group of guys. So for us to come out and establish a pretty good run game and run it right down was key.”
The opening drive for the Tigers covered 67 yards and took just three plays. Zack Moberg capped off the drive by rumbling 37 yards to make it a two-score game. Isaiah Campos started the drive with a 29-yard run to set the tone.
Campos, who finished with a game-high 123 yards on just 14 carries, broke a scoreless tie with a 12-yard score with 7:51 left in the first half.
“He's a pretty good running back,” Maine South coach David Inserra said of Campos. “He's a pretty good runner. He was able to bounce off a couple tackles. But this game is about blocking and tackling and we need to do a better job of tackling.”
Wheaton Warrenville South signalcaller Ryan Graham also made some big plays for the Tigers offense. Graham provided the dagger as he fired a tight spiral to Keishawn Watson, in stride, for a 53-yard score to cap off the scoring on the night for the visitors.
Graham finished 9-of-12 passing for 137 yards.
“There's going to be games where the running game outshines the passing game, but Ryan is an all-around good player,” Campos said of his QB. “I love that guy. He can kill the defense running or passing. He is just a beast.”
Graham, who ran the Tigers' read-option offense to perfection, finished with just 38 yards on the ground. But he was able to use precision passes to keep the chains moving and kept the Hawks defense honest with his 12 carries.
Six of Graham's nine completions went for first downs, half of which came on third down.
“That's a nice three-headed monster for us,” Muhitch said of Graham, Campos and Moberg. “I am just real pleased to get the run game going for us this week. That was a big key for us.”
WW South chewed up 224 yards on the ground while holding Maine South to just 79 yards.
Alec Basso, who threw for over 300 yards last week, completed 19 of 31 passes for 201 yards in the loss.
Wheaton Warrenville South will play host to cross-town rival Wheaton North next Friday.