Wheaton-Warrenville South still has an excellent chance to win its third consecutive Class 6A state championship.
But after Friday night’s 15-13 loss to Glenbard West, the sixth-ranked Tigers know that goal will have to be accomplished in less than perfect fashion.
Although Wheaton-Warrenville South quarterback Jon Beutjer threw for 337 yards, including second-half touchdown passes of 53 and 72 yards to Jonathan Schweighardt (12 receptions for 289 yards), the visitors from Glen Ellyn still matched their victory total for all of last season with the upset.
“Last year we put too much emphasis on this game and almost won it but had a disappointing rest of the year,” said Glenbard West coach Al Greenberg. “We went into tonight’s game treating it just as one in the nine games we’ll play this year during the regular season.”
The defending champs finished with minus-15 yards rushing, lost two fumbles, had a punt blocked and gave up five sacks–two by Josh Hjorth. But thanks to a 13-point fourth quarter, the Tigers had a chance to win until Scott Gorrill’s 20-yard field-goal attempt with 8 seconds to play went wide.
“We gave a great effort in the fourth quarter,” said Wheaton South coach John Thorne. “It’s too bad that we couldn’t have done that for the first three.”
Richards 47, Lincoln Park 0: Gary Korhonen became the ninth coach in Illinois high school football history to win 200 games with Friday’s victory from his 20th-ranked Bulldogs. Korhonen, who’s in his 25th year at Richards, improved to 200-63.
“There’s probably four things as far as my coaching career is concerned that I consider milestones,” Korhonen said. “They are the state championships in 1988 and in 1989, the induction into the (Illinois Football Coaches’) hall of fame in ’93 and this win tonight.
“The thing I’m most thankful for is the great coaches and players that I’ve been surrounded by. I’ve been very fortunate.”
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Shaun Brown gave Richards all the production it would need with three first-quarter touchdowns. He finished the game with 78 yards on just five carries. Jim Orozco added 63 yards on five carries and one touchdown. Richards finished with 271 total yards, all of it gained on the ground.
Maine South 28, York 21: Despite a 13-point fourth-quarter, No. 8 York was unable to avoid the upset in Elmhurst. Dino Gardiakos led the victors with 120 yards and two touchdowns, including a 5-yard run late in the third to give Maine South a 28-8 lead.
York rallied behind quarterback Vince Lucca, who completed 22 of 32 for 237 yards and two touchdowns.
Downers Grove South 13, Waubonsie Valley 12: Justin Slais’ 54-yard field-goal attempt with no time remaining was blocked by Gordon Szymanski, giving the Mustangs the upset of No. 12 Waubonsie Valley.
Quarterback Jason Hogrefe threw for 106 yards and scored one touchdown on the ground. But his 8-yard scoring reception from wide receiver Chris Tourek with 30 seconds remaining provided the margin of victory.
“Hogrefe played wide receiver all last year and is as talented of a receiver as he is a quarterback,” said Downers South coach John Belskis of the deciding touchdown. “We didn’t think it would come down to that, but we said if it did, we would take it and throw it.”
Bolingbrook 24, Minooka 6: Antoineo Harris picked up right where he left off last season, rushing for 241 yards and two touchdowns in the third-ranked Raiders’ season-opening victory. Bolingbrook led 8-0 at half on a 5-yard run by quarterback Eric Cawthon, and Harris broke off scoring runs of 53 yards in the third and 1 yard in the fourth to give Bolingbrook control.
Lincoln-Way 37, Homewood-Flossmoor 24: Rich Schutt scored three fourth-quarter touchdowns for No. 5 Lincoln-Way as the Knights rallied for the non-conference victory. H-F quarterback Trey Harrington threw for 403 yards and two touchdowns but was picked off four times.
Evanston 42, St. Charles 17: Siaka Massaquoi rushed for 189 yards and scored twice, and quarterback Derek Samaras added 170 yards through the air and two touchdowns of his own for the seventh-ranked Wildkits.
Marian Catholic 41, Joliet 0: Terrence Pirtle ran 73 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage, setting the tone for a 240-yard effort that included five touchdowns for the 10th-ranked Spartans.
Addison Trail 7, Wheaton North 3: Matt Irvin’s 33-yard touchdown pass to Mike Golub with 5:41 remaining helped No. 13 Addison Trail escape with the victory. Taso Nikolau led the Blazers with 167 yards rushing as Addison Trail outgained Wheaton North 213-59 on the ground.
Stevenson 27, Waukegan 14: John Riley’s 98-yard kickoff return 4 minutes before halftime gave the 14th-ranked Patriots a lead they would never relinquish. John Dervishian, who had 156 yards on 13 carries, added an 80-yard scoring run, and quarterback Curtis Zervic hooked up with Steven Strubbe for two more touchdowns.
Bishop McNamara 49, Bradley 28: The 15th-ranked Fightin’ Irish broke a 14-14 second-quarter deadlock with three straight touchdowns in the blowout of their nearby rival. Johnny Short rushed for 192 yards and three touchdowns to lead Bishop McNamara.
Maine West 34, Elk Grove 0: Alex Voltaire finished with 231 yards on just 21 carries and scored on runs of 64, 34, 15 and 4 yards to lead No. 16 Maine West. Voltaire also added a sack from his outside linebacker position.