Willowbrook disappointed by blowout loss to St. Rita

They honored Mr. Mustang, the St. Rita mascot at halftime of Friday's Class 7A football game -- and the public-address announcer improvised a couple of horse sounds.

That ceremony mirrored the just-completed first half, in which the host Mustangs galloped all over Willowbrook. St. Rita raced to a 43-0 halftime lead and finished with a 43-7 victory.

"I'm disappointed in the outcome," Willowbrook coach Mark Olson said. "We didn't want to lose. You never want to lose. You don't want to be in the playoffs just to be in the playoffs. We want to be in the playoffs to win the state championship. Unfortunately, we're going to fall five games short."

Willowbrook (6-4) struggled to get its offense rolling in the first half. The Warriors fumbled on their first play from scrimmage, lost 4 fumbles in the first half and suffered an interception in a 5-turnover half.

St. Rita (7-3) took full advantage. Dan Dispensa scored on a 45-yard run and then Matt Lostroscio ran in from 10 yards midway through the first quarter and the Mustangs had a quick 14-0 lead.

When Ryan Demming picked up a blocked punt and returned it for a touchdown, the Mustangs were ahead 20-0 and the rout was rolling.

St. Rita scored a further 23 points in the second half to bring the running clock into play from the start of the second half.

"I thought this was the only game where they hit us hard and we were out of it pretty quick," Olson said. "But I thought our kids did a good job facing adversity. That's a great team (St. Rita). But I'll go to war with our kids any day. I wouldn't trade them for any team."

Willowbrook broke the shutout on the opening possession of the second half. On the second play from scrimmage, Wayne Bolden ran 67 yards into the end zone.

The resounding defeat in the playoff opener to the defending Class 7A champions was a stinging loss for Willowbrook. However, the Warriors had several highlights during the season.

A victory over Hinsdale South helped make playoff qualification possible, and the Warriors won three of their last four games to earn their spot in the postseason bracket.

"We look back early in the year and people picked us fifth in the conference and we finished second in the conference," Olson said. "The kids should be proud of that."