Graham sets tone to snap Bears’ streak

Wheaton North wide receiver Chris Bradley (16) heads for the endzone against Lake Zurich.
(Jason Geil/For the Sun-Times)

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It was a game Taylor-made for Wheaton North.

Junior Taylor Graham threw two second-quarter touchdown passes as the 15th-ranked Falcons knocked off reigning Class 7A state champion Lake Zurich 26-7 on Friday night in Wheaton.

A 10-yard pass from Graham to Hunter Thorson on the first play of the second quarter broke a scoreless tie.

Before the half ended, Graham completed a 17-yard touchdown pass to Ivan Tamba and, in the closing seconds, threw an 11-yard pass to Chris Bradley, who was pushed out of bounds at the 1. Mike Trumpy pushed over for a touchdown on the next play and gave Wheaton North a 20-0 halftime lead.

‘‘Taylor made it a point to come out and be a leader from the first drive,’’ said Trumpy, who finished with 231 yards on 29 carries, including a spectacular 91-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter. ‘‘I give all the credit to our offensive line. They were great — all five of them.’’

Said Graham: ‘‘We knew the offensive line would take us places. They gave me time, and the receivers caught everything. And if I have a bad game, I know that we can count on Mike.’’

The 20 points were more than any of Lake Zurich’s five playoff opponents could muster last fall. In those five games, Lake Zurich allowed 49 points total. Snapped on Friday was the No. 17 Bears’ 14-game winning streak, dating back to last year’s opener against Fremd.

On the first two drives, Graham, son of former Falcons star and NFL quarterback Kent Graham, completed 9 of 11 passes for 120 yards.

It could have been worse for Lake Zurich. Wheaton North missed two field goals, one after an interception by Jack Quinn.

In the second half, the Falcons’ defense, led by John Sambo, Will Gemmel and Quinn, bent but didn’t break. Trailing 26-0, the Bears (1-1) got on the board on a nine-yard run by Tom Flaherty with 4:23 to play.

‘‘I thought we did a great job of making adjustments on the fly,’’ said first-year Falcons coach Joe Wardynski, who had the student section chanting his name down the stretch. ‘‘It was a great win. But we still have a long way to go.

‘‘Our offensive coordinator, Dan Korrntheuer, put together a great game plan. With [John] Brewer and that No. 31 [Tony Pecho] up front, they were tough. The defense had some great stops when they were driving and could have turned the momentum around.

‘‘You can bet that Lake Zurich will be there when the [Class] 7A playoffs start. We play four teams that were in a state-championship game this year, and we have another one next week in Glenbard North.’’