Senior Troy Laing may be an offensive newcomer at slot back for the Hinsdale Central football team, but he spent the preseason making his teammates become comfortable.

That especially was true for sophomore starting quarterback John Whitelaw.

Hinsdale Central quarterback John Whitelaw (center) gets taken down by Wheaton Warrenville South's Mark LaBelle during the second quarter of Friday's season opener in Wheaton. (Photo for The Doings by Raymundo Luna)

"Throughout the week of the practice game, he'd come into the huddle and try to tell me to laugh and relax. He'd make fun of teammates just as a joke and lighten everything up," Whitelaw said. "He and I are becoming closer and closer as it goes on."

There wasn't much to smile about for the Red Devils after Friday's season-opening 20-6 loss at defending Class 8A state champion Wheaton Warrenville South. But the performances of Whitelaw and Laing were among many encouraging aspects in a game that, if not for some key mistakes, the Red Devils might have won.

The tide turned for good with 9 minutes, 29 seconds left, moments after Billy Auriemma scored on a 1-yard run to cut the Red Devils' deficit to 13-6. David Lutz made a fair catch of the Tigers' punt at the Hinsdale 34, but the Red Devils were penalized for having too many men on the field -- a 15-yard infraction. The Tigers retained possession with a first down and eventually scored on a 5-yard pass with 4:12 to play.

"Too many guys? We count people every day (at practice). It's a mistake. We made a bunch of tiny errors and they didn't," Hinsdale Central coach Mike DiMatteo said.

"We're not hanging our heads. There's no reason to. We beat ourselves and that's just kind of what happens and that's my fault. I have to do a better job. Our kids show a lot of heart and that's what is going to carry us, and if anybody thinks this is a devastating loss on any level, they're wrong. It's not. It's Week 1. It's disappointing, but it's an opportunity to learn. We'll fix all of the small things. We're going to be just fine."

The left-handed Whitelaw remained poised in his first varsity start. Facing the Tigers, who had three full or part-time returning defensive starters, Whitelaw completed 11 of 22 passes with no interceptions for 144 yards -- 99 of them to Laing -- and rushed for a team-best 80 yards. The Red Devils outgained the Tigers 291 to 245 yards.

Whitelaw was a ballboy when his brother, Drew, and the Red Devils played in a game with much higher stakes -- the 2002 state semifinal loss to Lockport at Dickinson Field. Whitelaw became the starter when senior Zach Leathers, last year's returning starter, was unable to recover from shoulder surgery.

"I always get pretty nervous before games, but this one was a little more than usual," John Whitelaw said. "At first it was a little scary, but as the game went on, I got much more comfortable. I felt like I was on the same level as everyone else. If we can play with that team, we can play with anyone."

A great effort by the offensive line of returning full- or part-time starters Tim Curran, Robbie Mains and Jack Curatolo, Collin Watkins and Ben Morrison certainly helped. The Red Devils were 3 for 3 on fourth-down conversions.

"(Whitelaw has) got a lot of work to do, but he shows flashes of great things. He's going to be a special player, but the best part about John is he's a team player," DiMatteo said.

"In practice, he's always looking for me, throwing me the ball. I love the kid for that, but I also love him as a person, too. He's a great guy and a great teammate for everyone," Laing said.

Only three receivers had more than 100 receiving yards all of last season. Laing, a starting cornerback in 2006, made his biggest play at the end of the third quarter when he caught Whitelaw's pass at the 35 and continued all the way to the 5 with help from Nick Chenier's downfield block. Auriemma scored two plays later.

"Troy is not the most outgoing guy in the whole world, but he and I have a nice relationship," DiMatteo said. "He's an emotional guy. He tends to come up in pretty big games. He's one of those guys that wants the ball in those situations and for a quarterback, especially a young kid, that's kind of a nice thing to have. We have a number of guys like that."

The Red Devils nearly scored just before halftime following Whitelaw's 12-yard pass to Matt Huber at the 4 just after a holding penalty. But Whitelaw had an incomplete pass to the end zone past the face of charging linebacker Dan Togami, and Todd Klepacki's 21-yard field goal was wide.

The Tigers scored on a 13-play, 93-yard drive in the first quarter by converting third downs of 7, 13 and 15 yards. The Tigers' Chris Schweighardt caught a 36-yard TD pass from Mike Piatkowski with 3:27 left in the third quarter as cornerback Brian Connor was going down with a cramp.

Allan Cameron (sack) and Pat Clegg each had two tackles for loss for the Red Devils' defense.

"I honestly think we had a great game, but we need to finish it," Laing said. "Playing the defending state champs, there was a lot of pressure on us. We thought we had the upset at halftime (only being behind 6-0). We're going to work a lot harder in practice and come out very strong for the teams in our conference."

© Copyright 2007 Sun-Times News Group

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