WW South 35, West Aurora 6
Had West Aurora played a perfect football game on Friday night, it would have likely had its hands full with Wheaton Warrenville South, one of the best teams in the state this year.
But the Blackhawks made some mistakes -- and that's not something you want to do against the Tigers -- certainly not on Friday when the hosts were not in a forgiving mood.
Wheaton Warrenville South won the DuPage Valley Conference game 35-6 and was at its most devastating in the first half, rolling to a 28-0 lead.
"You just can't make mistakes," West Aurora coach Buck Drach said. "Not on their field and not with the kids they have. You can't make mistakes."
After forcing the Tigers to punt on their first possession, West Aurora fumbled on its first play from scrimmage. Seven plays later, Francis Adarkwa ran in from 5 yards for the first touchdown of the game.
The Blackhawks took the next kickoff and drove 50 yards before fumbling again. The Tigers again moved quickly upfield and scored on a Michael Piatkowski keeper.
West Aurora punted on its next 2 possessions and, each time, WW South scored touchdowns.
"The defense started off great, getting us the ball off turnovers," Piatkowski said. "We worked off of that. Then we had great balance. The line was working well on the run and the pass."
The Tigers were very efficient in moving to 6-0 for the season and 4-0 in the DVC. Piatkowski was 12-for-16 passing and 188 yards. Adarkwa gained 85 yards on 19 carries and he scored 3 touchdowns.
Leading the receiving corps was Chris Schweighardt, who caught 5 passes for 95 yards. But even here, there was balance -- Piatkowski hit 6 different receivers in the first half alone.
"The line gave me plenty of time to scan the field," Piatowski said. "I just looked for the open receiver and threw him the ball."
West Aurora (3-3, 1-3) continued to move the ball and finished with 227 yards of total offense. The Blackhawks got on the board in the final 2 minutes when Derrick Smith hit Tim Soloff with an 8-yard halfback option pass.
West Aurora had a scare in the third quarter when Isaac Portillo went down injured and stayed on the field. He was taken from the field on a stretcher, but Drach said he was getting feeling back even as he was being taken from the field and transported to Central DuPage Hospital.
"He got a lot better while he was laying there, so (the medical staff) was pretty positive," Drach said. "They just wanted to make sure he'd be OK. He had all his feeling and he was never unconscious."