| Red Devils test, but don’t top champs By Mike Considine, mconsidine@libertysuburban.com GateHouse News Service Fri Aug 24, 2007, 11:52 PM CDT -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Wheaton, IL - Hinsdale Central outgained the defending Class 8A champions by about 30 yards on their own artificial turf, but couldn’t pull off a season-opening upset. Wheaton Warrenville South scored two second-half touchdowns and stopped Hinsdale Central inside the 10-yard line in a 20-6 win Friday at Red Grange Field in Wheaton. Hinsdale Central pulled within 13-6 when Billy Auriemma scored on a 1-yard run with 11:22 remaining, but the Tigers drove 68 yards on a 14-play drive that clinched the outcome in the season-opener for both teams. Senior quarterback Mike Piatkowski (13 of 19, 146 yards) completed three passes on the drive which culminated with a 5-yard completion to Mike Sloboda with 4:12 to play. “The biggest improvement of the season is from Week 1 to Week 2,” Hinsdale Central coach Mike DiMatteo said. “We have a good group of kids. Were going to win a lot of games this year. They’re going to be a good football team. They’re going to win a lot of games this year.” Piatkowski also found senior wideout Chris Schweighardt wide open behind the Hinsdale Central secondary for a 37-yard scoring pass and a 13-6 lead with 3:27 remaining in the third quarter. The Red Devils scored on the ensuing possession. “I don’t think they read our press clippings at all,” Wheaton Warrenville South coach Ron Muhitch said. “They played a very tough football game.” Red Devils sophomore quarterback John Whitelaw hooked up with Troy Laing on a 48-yard pass play that set up the score. Laing broke two tackles on the run to reach the WWS 5. Whitelaw followed with a 4-yard run. “When he gets a little more consistent, he’s going to be a great player,” DiMatteo said. “John’s a team player.” WWS running back Francis Adarkwa (80 yards, 16 carries) capped a 93-yard, 13-play drive with a 5-yard touchdown with 6.2 seconds left in the drive. Adarkwa covered the final 22 yards on two carries. The Red Devils drove to the Tigers 6 at the end of the first half, but a 21-yard field goal attempt by Todd Klepacki, which would have cut WWS’ lead in half, was wide left as time elapsed. “That really helped turn the momentum,” Schweighardt said. “That first game causes a little bit of jitters. At halftime, we just talked about eliminating mistakes and running the ball hard. We played a lot of power football.” The drive was aided by a 40-yard run from Whitelaw (217 total yards) to the WWS 7. Following a holding penalty, Whitelaw passed 12 yards to Matt Huber, but an incompletion set up the field goal. “We had a miscommunication on a passing play,” DiMatteo said. “We had two guys in there that made an error. We must not have coached them enough on that play. That and having too many guys on the field on that punt hurt us. I thought we were going to score then.” Hinsdale Central stopped the Tigers at their own 42 four plays after scoring in the fourth quarter. However, on the resulting punt, the Red Devils were penalized for having an extra player on the field. Hinsdale Central finished with 148 passing yards and 121 rushing yards. The Tigers ran for 91 yards and had 237 total yards. “I told the kids that’s a great team and a well-coached team,” DiMatteo said. “Muhitch went 14-0 and won a state championship last year for a reason.” Copyright © 2006–2007 GateHouse Media, Inc. Some Rights Reserved http://www.chicagosuburbannews.com/hinsdale/homepage/x1376441893 |
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