Post by doctorwho on Oct 20, 2007 22:52:51 GMT -6
First the VB team, now Football... a couple of nice milestones for the 2007 season.
Warriors clinch share of first league title since 1997
Larkin no match for Waubonsie defense
October 20, 2007
By Dustin Michael Harris staff writer
ELGIN – Standing in front of reporters on a chilly night at Memorial Field in Elgin, Waubonsie Valley linebacker Spencer Merritt was the picture of a physical game.
Flecks of bloodstains accented the front of his jersey. His chin was bloodied and swatches of smeared blood freckled his face. Still slightly bleeding, Merritt opted to touch fists instead of shake hands. Undoubtedly, there was blood on his gloves.
But being bloodied up didn’t keep the senior from smiling. After all, shutouts don’t come easy and the Warriors' 28-0 victory Friday night over Upstate Eight Conference rival Larkin was a physical battle until the last second.
By the time running back Rich Tronolone ran in a 1-yard touchdown to put the Warriors (7-2, 5-1) up 28-0 with 2:29 left in the game, it was clear that this season had shaped up to be the best in 10 years.
The win over the Royals (4-5, 4-3) gave Waubonsie a share of the UEC title (St. Charles East also finished 5-1) for the first time since 1997. The 7-2 regular finish was the first time the team had garnered seven wins in a decade. The win also avenged a fluke 27-23 loss to the Royals last season – a loss that kept the Warriors out of the playoffs.
But it’s doubtful that Merritt and his defensive cohorts had any time to process those milestones when they took the field with 2:23 left in the game. What they did know was that they wanted a shutout.
“Definitely, definitely, we wanted to keep the shutout because that says a lot about (our defensive) against a high scoring team like Larkin,” Merritt said.
The Warriors handed the Royals, the conference’s most prolific offense this season (Larkin had scored a whopping 320 points coming into the game), their first shutout of the season. And after only giving up 100 points in regular season play, the Warriors earned the title of the UEC’s best defense.
It didn’t come easy. Those final 2:23 seconds were some of the longest of the season and the flag-happy officials continually frustrated the Warriors. So much so that senior linebacker Kevin Garbis was ejected from the game for what looked like arguing with an official. Merritt wasn’t sure what happened, but noted that the team will be without one of their best linebackers for the first game of the playoffs. According to IHSA rules any player ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct will be forced to sit out the following week’s contest.
“I thought the officials lost control at the end they weren’t calling anything,” Waubonsie coach Paul Murphy said. “They were tackling our tackles and they weren’t calling anything, yet we got five face mask penalties?”
Although Larkin completed just one 14-yard pass from their own 16-yard line, the team eventually ended up at first-and-goal from the 5-yard line with seconds left in the game thanks to five penalties that equaled nearly 60 yards.
Although Garbis was ejected with 9.8 seconds remaining and the incident had some shaking their heads after what should’ve been the team’s most celebratory huddle since they beat Neuqua Valley earlier this year, the Warriors preserved the shutout anyways.
Defensively, the team had avoided what seemed to be an almost unavoidable touchdown
Warriors clinch share of first league title since 1997
Larkin no match for Waubonsie defense
October 20, 2007
By Dustin Michael Harris staff writer
ELGIN – Standing in front of reporters on a chilly night at Memorial Field in Elgin, Waubonsie Valley linebacker Spencer Merritt was the picture of a physical game.
Flecks of bloodstains accented the front of his jersey. His chin was bloodied and swatches of smeared blood freckled his face. Still slightly bleeding, Merritt opted to touch fists instead of shake hands. Undoubtedly, there was blood on his gloves.
But being bloodied up didn’t keep the senior from smiling. After all, shutouts don’t come easy and the Warriors' 28-0 victory Friday night over Upstate Eight Conference rival Larkin was a physical battle until the last second.
By the time running back Rich Tronolone ran in a 1-yard touchdown to put the Warriors (7-2, 5-1) up 28-0 with 2:29 left in the game, it was clear that this season had shaped up to be the best in 10 years.
The win over the Royals (4-5, 4-3) gave Waubonsie a share of the UEC title (St. Charles East also finished 5-1) for the first time since 1997. The 7-2 regular finish was the first time the team had garnered seven wins in a decade. The win also avenged a fluke 27-23 loss to the Royals last season – a loss that kept the Warriors out of the playoffs.
But it’s doubtful that Merritt and his defensive cohorts had any time to process those milestones when they took the field with 2:23 left in the game. What they did know was that they wanted a shutout.
“Definitely, definitely, we wanted to keep the shutout because that says a lot about (our defensive) against a high scoring team like Larkin,” Merritt said.
The Warriors handed the Royals, the conference’s most prolific offense this season (Larkin had scored a whopping 320 points coming into the game), their first shutout of the season. And after only giving up 100 points in regular season play, the Warriors earned the title of the UEC’s best defense.
It didn’t come easy. Those final 2:23 seconds were some of the longest of the season and the flag-happy officials continually frustrated the Warriors. So much so that senior linebacker Kevin Garbis was ejected from the game for what looked like arguing with an official. Merritt wasn’t sure what happened, but noted that the team will be without one of their best linebackers for the first game of the playoffs. According to IHSA rules any player ejected for unsportsmanlike conduct will be forced to sit out the following week’s contest.
“I thought the officials lost control at the end they weren’t calling anything,” Waubonsie coach Paul Murphy said. “They were tackling our tackles and they weren’t calling anything, yet we got five face mask penalties?”
Although Larkin completed just one 14-yard pass from their own 16-yard line, the team eventually ended up at first-and-goal from the 5-yard line with seconds left in the game thanks to five penalties that equaled nearly 60 yards.
Although Garbis was ejected with 9.8 seconds remaining and the incident had some shaking their heads after what should’ve been the team’s most celebratory huddle since they beat Neuqua Valley earlier this year, the Warriors preserved the shutout anyways.
Defensively, the team had avoided what seemed to be an almost unavoidable touchdown
