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QB’s return sparks Deerfield past Waukegan
Gisell Martinez, a Sophmore with the Waukegan Marching Band, plays her flute during game Saturday.
| Joe Shuman~Sun-Times Media
Updated: September 17, 2011 7:22PM
Deerfield may have arrived late to the party, but the Warriors clearly have no intention of leaving early.
After stumbling out of the blocks 0-3, the Warriors were at full strength physically for the first time this season and muscled past host Waukegan 34-13 in a nonconference game.
As several of the Deerfield players put it after the game, “Five more to go.”
Indeed, even with the 0-3 start, Deerfield has never stopped thinking playoffs. And with this win over Waukegan in hand, the Warriors actually only need to go 4-1 in the pedestrian-like Central Suburban League North Division to finish 5-4 and qualify for postseason play.
That’s very doable, especially now that regular quarterback Brad Holway is under center.
The starting QB a year ago, he injured his hand a week before the season opener and sat out losses to Zion-Benton, Homewood-Flossmoor and Maine South — the latter two games the Warriors likely would have lost even with Holway taking the snaps.
Now that he’s back, the Warriors could, indeed, run the table — especially if they continue to play as well as they did against a good Waukegan (2-2) squad.
Deerfield coach Steve Winiecki called it a team win, “an offensive win, a defensive win and a special-teams win,” as he put it.
Holway was the consummate game manager, rushing five times for 31 yards and completing 6-of-11 passes for 70 yards, with one TD pass and one pick.
HIs return enabled star Marc Pagano to move back to his regular wingback positionm and it was the thrived, carrying 15 times for 100 yards and two touchdowns.
He had been filling in for Holway under center.
“Marc’s our Mr. Everything,” said Winiecki. “He feels he’s back home now in the slot.”
Despite the good play from Holway and Pagano, it was 13-13 afer Waukegan took the second-half kickoff and drove 62 yards in 12 plays to the house. Kyle Williams got the points on a three-yard TD pass from Reggie Richter (16-for-33, 197 yards, two touchdown passes (80 yards to Mark Jones and the one to Williams), and two interceptions (Jacob Balder and William Higginson).
But after Waukegan pulled even at 13-13, Holway drove the Warriors 62 yards, the last nine coming on a TD pass to Joe Harris that made it a 20-13 lead.
On the ensuing kickoff, Waukegan’s return man coughed it up, and Pagano’s 10-yard TD run gave Deerfield two TDs in 90 seconds.
Waukegan then went for it on fourth down at its own 20 and didn’t make it, setting up the Warriors in point-blank-range for the game-clilnching two-yard TD run by Jeremy Klitt. (11 carries, 39 yards).
“We still have to tighten things up,” said Winiecki, who praised the defense for holding Waukegan’s offense in check in the final quarter-plus.
He also liked the way his team ran the ball. “You’ve got to run the ball before you can pass,” he said.
On the other side of the field, Waukegan coach Nick Browder was lamenting breakdowns on individual plays that contributed to the defeat.
“In this game, you can’t have eight people doing what they’re supposed to be doing and three who are doing what they want.”
While Waukegan was solid, it didn’t excel in any phase of the game.
Defensively, Demetrious Friedon had an interception, and Andrew Montemayor and Tyler Witherspoon recovered fumbles.
On the ground, Waukegan ran 28 times for 75 yards. Deerfield ran the ball 45 times for 285 yards, with 40 coming one one late carry by backup QB Matt Kollada.
Next Saturday, Waukegan has its Homecoming game, with Niles West providing the opposition.
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