Waubonsie Valley coach Paul Murphy will be retiring at the conclusion of this season, his 15th with the Warriors.
Enough said.
At least, that’s how the 63-year-old Murphy wants it for now.
He didn’t make it a secret, alerting the district of his retirement plans three years ago. Even so, he’s turning down requests for interviews to discuss his career, which includes a 15-year stint from 1987 to 2002 as the head coach at Marmion.
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“I’d rather do it at the end of the year than now,” Murphy said. “I don’t want to take away from my team’s focus. To me, this season has to be about them and my seniors in particular. There will be plenty of time for me to talk at the end of the year.
“It’s out there. It’s not like I’m hiding it. I just don’t want the distraction for my team.”
A retirement celebration to honor Murphy is being planned for Friday, Oct. 25 before Waubonsie’s final regular-season game at home against Naperville North.
The Warriors team opened the 2019 season with a 23-14 victory over Oak Park-River Forest, pushing Murphy within two wins of the century mark at Waubonsie.
Murphy is 98-51 at the school with a .657 winning percentage. His teams at Waubonsie have qualified for the playoffs in 12 of 14 seasons, including a streak of 10 straight from 2007 to 2016.
Murphy assisted at North Central College for several seasons following his stint at Marmion and before taking the job of leading the Warriors and succeeding B.J. Luke, who had coached the team for 17 seasons before returning to his native Danville.
In 15 seasons at Marmion, Murphy’s teams compiled a 94-55 record for a .631 winning percentage and qualified for the playoffs seven times.
He has an overall career record of 192-106.
Stepping up: Sandwich ended up with three players topping 100 yards in rushing during a 15-14 win over Chicago Hope.
Senior Nic Lidinsky led with 29 carries for 155 yards. Senior Jackson Murphy, who opened the scoring with a 25-yard field goal, ran 16 times for 116 yards and one touchdown. Junior James Coleman ran 13 times for 139 yards and the other TD.
Equally impressive to Indians coach Kris Cassie, however, was the work of two unsung heroes on his offensive line — sophomores Adam Obradovic and Kaiden Gustafson.
“My lasting impression is that final drive of the game,” Cassie said.
Sandwich took a 9-0 lead in the first half, but trailed 14-9 in the fourth quarter, getting the ball back with 6:55 remaining.
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Cassie could have been troubled by the fact Sandwich’s starters at both guard positions, seniors Gerrit Decker and Sawyer Allen, had been sidelined by injuries.
But Cassie plugged in the sophomores and off went the Indians.
“It was a classic Sandwich drive,” said Cassie, who went back to a wing-T offense last season in his first year as coach. “We started at 6:55 and when we scored, there were 28 seconds left. It was just sheer will.
“The guys wanted to win so bad. I learned we’re tough and mentally disciplined.”
Aced it: Oswego East’s defense was up to the task in its first test during a 54-7 win over Romeoville, but there will be more challenges to come in Southwest Prairie Conference play.
“We only had two drives start on our half of the field,” Wolves coach Tyson LeBlanc said. “Everything else started on the other side of the 50. They had 29 yards of total offense, but they were missing their best player, a kid who played some quarterback and wide receiver last year.”