By Mark Gregory
Sports Editor
@Hear_The_Beard
mark@buglenewspapers.com
When Downers Grove South and Downers Grove North meet up in their annual head-to-head football game – there is an automatic extra degree of emotion involed in the contest.
Add in the fact that the winner of the game have the best chance of the two to qualify for the IHSA playoffs and there is even more.
That was what the situation when the teams met at South Friday night and it was North that came out with in the driver’s seat for postseason advancement with a 29-10 win over South.
“Our offesive line played an amazing game,” said North quarterback Jack Carr. “Sergio (Villalobos) for them is one of the best defensive lineman I have seen and our line playing how they played was huge.
“It was a good team win and it was big for school. Even teachers knew how big this was for us. Everyone knew how big it was for us to win this football game to make the playoffs. The fans were great and it felt like a home game.”
North got the scoring started when Carr hit Matthew Wehrs for a 31-yard TD pass. That came one play after Wehrs threw a 35-yard completion of his own on a wide-receiver reverse pass to Blake Davis.
“Coming back to the huddle, he said ‘I have more passing yards than you.’ So, then I hit him for the touchdown and told him we were even,” Carr said.
North then got a 27-yard scoring run from Logan Harmon (nine carries, 70 yards) to take a 14-0 lead into the half.
South opened the second half scoring with a 42-yard field goal from Tyler Bachara.
North then recorded a safety after a bad snap on a punt was recovered in the end zone. The Trojans scored again on a five-yard run from Drew Shelly (20 carries, 84 yards).
South tallied its only score when sophomore Jayden Lambert (16 carries, 81 yards) took the ball up the middle for a 31-yard TD.
“He is an explosive kid,” said South coach Mark Molinari. “He is only a sophomore and he has a bright future with him, but there are only so many things we can do with him and he did those well.”
After that, the Trojans went to the ground game and pounded it all the way downfield, ending with an 18-yard scoring run from Jordan Byers (eight carries, 66 yards).
“I have done that for a lot of years hereWander said. “We are running a lot more spread, but it is still in my blood to get down and pound it and the kids did a good job of that. We bring in a couple of defensive linemen (to block) and our backs aren’t big, but they hit the hole really hard.”
Overall, Molinari was not happy with how his team performed.
“I am a little disappointed in our effort,” he said. “I thought North was the more physical team. This is the first game all year where I didn’t think I was the better team. We lost a few games earlier we were physical and we dominated on defense, but tonight North took it to us.”
Both teams are 4-4 and need one more win for the playoffs and are both mathematically alive.
“Our kids knew was was on the line,” said North coach John Wander. “We started when we were 2-3, we knew everything was the playoffs for us. We rose up against Oak Park and lost on the last play versus (Lyons Township) and we came to play tonight.”
South will travel to Willowbrook (7-1) with playoffs on the line.
“We still have a chance and it will all be on the line next week,” Molinari said. “Our goal was to win conference and if we beat Willowbrook, maybe we can win conference or at least tie for it.”
North will face 0-8 York.
“We are going to push York,” Carr said. “Their record doesn’t show it, but I know kids over there and they are a good football team. They are going to come ready to play and so will we. Then, we will make the playoffs and see how far we can go.”