DVC deja vu, so far
In two fell swoops Friday night, the DuPage Valley Conference may have become a two-horse race.
And, like last year, we'll have to wait until the regular-season finale to figure it all out.
Wheaton Warrenville South stormed to a 45-7 victory at Naperville Central, winning for the 24th straight time in the DVC and for the 32nd straight time in the regular season.
With another dominant night the Tigers (5-0, 3-0) are clearly paving a path toward a fourth straight conference football title. Just as clearly, one team's firmly standing in their way.
Naperville North - defending Class 8A champion - also remained unbeaten with a 27-20 win over Glenbard North. Both the Huskies and WW South still have cross-town games to deal with, but pretty soon all eyes will be on their Week 9 showdown in Naperville.
Not that anyone's prepared to admit it.
"It's the DVC - it doesn't get any better than this," said WW South linebacker Pat Dansdill, who returned one of his two interceptions for a 32-yard fourth-quarter touchdown. "We've got to get it right back on track on Monday."
The Tigers ripped out to a 21-0 first quarter lead, scoring on their first three possessions while holding the Redhawks (4-1, 2-1) without a first down the first three times they had the ball.
Peter Jarrett, who ran for 81 yards, rushed for short touchdown runs in the first and fourth quarters. Quarterback Joe Furco also scored on a 2 yard run.
Just before halftime Nick Immekus booted his third field goal of the season, this one going for 31 yards.
The real noise, however, came in the passing game. Furco hooked up with electric Orlando Ross on touchdown tosses of 70 and 10 yards. Furco, who completed 7 of 11 passes for 176 yards, also threw a 50-yard strike to Mack Tracey to set up a score.
It was a vertical game not displayed by the Tigers in their previous four games. And if in the future it's as successful as it was Friday night, watch out.
"They were a great team, but we just had to keep pushing it down the field without any hesitation," Ross said. "It's a combination of execution and just making big plays when it counts. When your number's called, make the play."
Naperville Central's offense finally started to roll in the second quarter behind the passing combination of quarterback Nick Linne, who completed 19 of 31 passes for 194 yards, and receiver Antwon Harris.
Linne's 42-yard pass to Harris, who had 6 catches for 123 yards, set up the Redhawks' lone touchdown midway through the second quarter: a 2-yard run by Nick Kukuc that briefly narrowed the gap to 21-7.
It was one of the few highlights on an otherwise forgetful night for the Redhawks, who now gear up for next week's cross-town game at North Central College.
"They were better than we were," said Redhawks coach Mike Stine. "They're very good, very quick. I thought coming in that we were a pretty quick team, but they were a lot quicker than we were."
Although WW South outgained Naperville Central by a mere 15 yards, the early margin and five Redhawks turnovers set the tone for the game.
And perhaps the remainder of the DVC season.
kschmit@dailyherald.com