Tanner Westwood’s pregame pep talk paid off.
A 56-yard touchdown pass from the Waubonsie Valley junior quarterback to Josh LeMoine with 14.3 seconds left in Friday’s 29-28 win at Glenbard North seemed like a miraculous finish.
But it hardly came out of thin air.
“I walked up to Josh before the game and I said to him, ‘Hey your skills didn’t show up much last week — you’re the one they’re going to be sleeping on,'” Westwood said. “On that last play, I had no clue I’d be throwing to Josh.
“The pocket collapsed, I looked downfield, and he happened to find the ball.”
In his first two starts, Westwood has clearly shown he’s not afraid to get in the ear of player and coach alike.
Westwood suggested to Waubonsie coach Paul Murphy that LeMoine could be open, with coverage rolled to tight end Charles Robinson.
Earlier, Westwood recommended faking a bubble screen to a hitch-and-go. It turned into a 50-yard TD pass to Eric Esch.
“Tanner is an intelligent quarterback and he sees the field very well,” Murphy said.
Glenbard played seven in the box with man-to-man coverage on the outside, daring a throw. But Waubonsie opponents might think twice of that gamble going forward.
Four of Waubonsie’s six TDs have come on passes by Westwood of 49 yards or more. Westwood threw for 243 of his 275 yards in the second half Friday. He has already attempted 39 passes.
“We have receivers who can spread you out,” Westwood said. “Every once in a while, you just got to let it fly.”
Westwood’s next start will be his biggest.
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His varsity debut last year came a week after the Neuqua Valley game. Friday will mark just the second time in the history of the rivalry that the game will be played on Waubonsie’s campus.
“It’s going to be crazy,” Westwood said.
Wild on QBs: Don’t read too much into Neuqua’s decision to stick with Jack Bastable for the entire second half against Naperville Central.
Bastable got on a roll, completing 14 of 18 passes for 139 yards in the 24-10 win. The Wildcats will continue to rotate Bastable and Jake Eskoff.
“I told the kids if one quarterback got a hot hand I’m going to play them,” Neuqua coach Bill Ellinghaus said. “Jake is a good quarterback and Jack is a good quarterback. I feel confident in both.”
Both quarterbacks will likely continue to be without one of Neuqua’s top threats. Owen Piche, still recovering from shoulder surgery, is at best questionable for Friday’s game at Waubonsie.
Home sweet home: Winning the WildHawk Trophy as part of the Tom Schlegel Memorial Game with Central meant a little extra to Ellinghaus.
Ellinghaus was close friends with Schlegel, the former Neuqua coach and Central graduate who died in 2006 from non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. The trophy now sits on Schlegel’s desk at Neuqua.
“We still don’t have anybody at his desk because he left such a void,” Ellinghaus said. “There is still a drawer that we haven’t cleaned up. He was such a great teacher and mentor.”
Payton’s place: Metea Valley got a glimpse of its bright future at quarterback Friday when sophomore Payton Thorne came off the bench to throw for 131 yards and three second-half touchdowns in a 41-40 loss to Naperville North.
“He had a great week of practice,” Metea coach Ben Kleinhans said of Thorne. “He’s going to get more and more opportunities.”
Both Metea quarterbacks made progress from Week 1. Ryan Kriceri ran in a touchdown.
“It’s no coincidence that they played better and our offense played better.” Kleinhans said.
Joshua Welge is a freelance writer for the Naperville Sun.