When he wasn’t diving forward for tough yardage, Nate Ashford ran through and around players.
But the Waubonsie Valley junior didn’t care how many yards he piled up if it didn’t mean a victory.
Ashford finished with 22 carries for 177 yards and three touchdowns Friday night, but it wasn’t enough in the Warriors’ 39-32 DuPage Valley Conference loss at Wheaton-Warrenville South.
“It was a great game, but my performance doesn’t really matter if it doesn’t come out as a win,” Ashford said. “We had a lot of turnovers, and our defense could have done a little better, but we’ll learn from it.”
The night started out well for Waubonsie (3-3, 3-3) as Ashford scored on an 11-yard TD run to cap a short drive on the Warriors’ first possession.
But Wheaton South (1-5, 1-5) also had big offensive plans.
Ryan Young ran 17 times for 148 yards and two TDs. Quarterback Matthew Dohse hit Cam Moore for an 80-yard TD pass that tied the game at 14-14 with 10:19 left in the second quarter.
Defensive lineman Jake Julian summed up the Warriors’ plight.
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“Some of these kids got themselves down. They miss a tackle, and then they feel, ‘Oh, I can’t make any more,’ ” Julian said. “We really need to just work on picking ourselves up and believing in ourselves.”
Ashford ran for a 17-yard TD late in the second quarter to give the Warriors a 21-20 advantage. Ashford’s 58-yard run set up a 1-yard TD plunge by Tanner Westwood, followed by Westwood’s 2-point conversion to give Waubonsie a 29-26 lead in the third.
“Nate’s got that burst,” Waubonsie coach Paul Murphy said. “He’s a turf runner. When he’s got seams, he has the ability to take it to the house. I thought he ran fantastic, but we’ve got to have more than just Nate.”
The Warriors had three second-half turnovers that led to 13 points for Wheaton South. Brian Haw kicked field goals from 35 and 33 yards, and Young’s 13-yard TD run gave the Tigers a 39-29 lead.
Cross Holmes kicked a 24-yard field goal with 4:40 to play to pull Waubonsie within 39-32.
Two personal-foul penalties hurt the Warriors’ chances at a comeback, and the Tigers ran out the clock.
“Too many turnovers,” Murphy said. “If we don’t do that, our offense has got a chance.
“Right now we’re an average football team, and if we want to be better than average, we’ve got to do something about it.”
Bob Hurst is a freelance reporter for the Naperville Sun.