York did almost everything it needed to do to upset No. 2 Wheaton North on Friday night at Wheaton’s Rexilius Field.
The Dukes (7-4) had 85 plays to Wheaton’s 33 and 19 first downs to the Falcons’ nine. But when it came to York crossing the goal line, Wheaton North was going to have none of it.
Quarterback Zach Ullrich threw for two touchdowns (he finished just 5-of-15 for 137 yards) and the Falcons’ defense held off a furious second-half effort in posting a 21-13 Class 8A victory to stay unbeaten at 11-0.
The Falcons scored off two first-half York turnovers and an 80-yard touchdown pass to Brett Bollweg to post a 21-3 halftime lead.
From there, Wheaton’s defense–minus linebacker Bollweg, who injured his shoulder in the first half–was consistently tested.
The Dukes took the opening second-half drive 68 yards in 12 plays, capped by a 9-yard Jason Anderson run to cut the lead to 21-10.
After a blocked punt by Anderson, the Dukes reached the North 15 but settled for Josh Patterson’s 34-yard field goal to close to within 21-13.
York had fourth-quarter drives that moved to the Wheaton North 17, 11, 18 and 31 but came up empty.
It wasn’t until Andy Shields (20-for-39, 184 yards) had his Hail Mary pass broken up in the end zone by Wheaton’s Kyle Vock and Nate Hardwick as time expired that the Falcons could come up for air.
“Our defense really stepped up, especially after losing Bollweg,” said linebacker Bob McLearen, who had three of Wheaton’s six sacks. “Coach is always telling us that when adversity comes, you’ve got to step up.”
— Phil English
Class 7A
Buffalo Grove 35, Glenbrook North 3
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The only thing better than Buffalo Grove’s offense was, perhaps, their dominant defense as the No. 5 Bison (11-0) manhandled Glenbrook North (7-4).
Tommy Zbikowski (134 yards on 15 carries, 11-of-26 passing) answered the Spartans’ early 39-yard field goal by Marc Meuman with a 65-yard touchdown run. And the rout was on, as the Bison opened a 28-3 halftime lead.
Led by junior linebacker Eric Andino (22 tackles), the Bison limited the Spartans’ James Velissaris to 56 yards on 23 carries. Zbikowski gave Buffalo Grove a 14-3 lead with 8 minutes 27 seconds left in the second quarter with a 1-yard keeper.
Jeff Moore, who rushed for 72 yards on seven carries, added a TD less than two minutes later. Scott Harrington also had a 26-yard scoring run.
Mark Woodsum scored the Bisons’ final TD on a 5-yard run at 4:05 of the third quarter.
“They’re big, strong and fast–and that’s a good combination,” Glenbrook North coach Frank Whalen said. “They don’t have many weaknesses, if any.
“Last year Zbikowski was the show. This year he’s just one of the guys. They have any number of guys now who can beat you. And that’s a scary thought.”
— Ross Forman
Stagg 51, Morgan Park 21
Stagg took the term “ball control” to heart in its second-round playoff game, holding the ball for more than 18 minutes of the second half and turning a close game into a rout.
Dave Mordis led a Stagg offense that amassed more than 400 yards, rushing for 208 yards and three touchdowns on 27 carries. Dominique Barnes added 86 yards and a score, and quarterback Joe Ganz threw a touchdown pass and ran for two scores as Stagg (9-2) advanced to the state quarterfinals for the first time in school history.
“Morgan Park was keying on [Barnes],” Mordis said. “He’s our leading rusher and I’ve been injured. Our offensive line just kept pounding away and we just went right at them.”
Stagg led just 28-21 at halftime, but Mike Moritz intercepted a pass on the second play of the second half.
Mordis ran 52 yards for a score on the next play, and a 6-yard TD run by Ganz culminated a nine-play, 53-yard drive after a three-and-out by Morgan Park (7-4).
Morgan Park’s next possession resulted in a safety, as Sean Kenney tackled quarterback Andre Downing in the end zone, and Stagg had a 44-21 lead with 3:33 left in the third quarter.
Morgan Park stayed close in the first half thanks to Cinque Chapman (12 rushes, 123 yards), who caught a 6-yard touchdown pass from Downing and scored on runs of 73 and 1 yards.
— Jeff Ponczak