Third-quarter explosion lifts Tigers

WW South's Peter Jarrett (32) is congratulated by teammates after catching a long pass in the first half against Joliet Catholic.
(Liz Wilkinson Allen/Herald News)

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Wheaton Warrenville South possesses good team speed, not only in how fast its players can run, but also the way that the Tigers can turn a close game into a blowout.

In a matchup between tradition football powerhouses, the No. 7 Tigers turned a four-point halftime lead into an easy victory Friday over No. 23 Joliet Catholic.

The Tigers did so by scoring three third-quarter touchdowns on a Joliet Memorial Stadium field chewed up from a college football game played Thursday in a rainstorm. Diane Lorenzini and Dina Kritsas, mothers of two WW South offensive linemen, went shopping to find 30 sets of new cleats.

‘‘We were worried that the field would slow us down,’’ WW South quarterback Joe Furco said. ‘‘We switched to three-quarter-inch cleats to get some traction, and it worked.’’

WW South was leading 7-6 with just over a minute left in the first half when Furco led the Tigers to the Hilltoppers’ 9-yard line. Nick Immekus converted a 25-yard field goal with no time left for a 10-6 halftime lead.

‘‘The key to the game was that halftime field goal,’’ WW South coach Ron Muhitch said. ‘‘Our offense and defense executed with momentum in the second half.’’

Furco showed his big-play ability in the third quarter. On the Tigers’ first drive, he scrambled to the right for 32 yards, setting up his six-yard touchdown pass to Michael Olp for a 17-6 lead midway through the quarter.

Four plays after WW South recovered a Joliet Catholic fumble, Furco scrambled away from a sack and found Mack Tracey alone in the end zone for a 29-yard touchdown and a 24-6 third-quarter lead. Furco finished 9-of-13 for 144 yards and two touchdowns.

Calvin Smith scored on a 41-yard run for the Hilltoppers, and Peter Jarrett scored from one yard out for WW South in the second quarter.