Mustangs own all of league title

South quarterback Chandler Whitmer throws a pass to wide receiver Jason Jozaites. Jozaites caught a 56-yard touchdown pass to begin the second half.

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Downers Grove South clinched the West Suburban Gold conference championship with a convincing 30-7 victory over visiting Leyden on Oct. 24.

The Eagles (4-5, 3-3) made it interesting in the first half, but the Mustangs (7-2, 6-0) proved to be too much in the second half.

"The win was important because the kids wanted to win the conference championship outright," Mustangs coach John Belskis said.

The victory was also crucial as it helped South earn a Class 8A first-round home playoff game. The eighth-seeded Mustangs host ninth-seeded Hinsdale Central at 7 p.m. Oct. 31.

Leyden scored the first touchdown on a quarterback sneak by David Rose, which was set up by a Mustangs fumble.

South responded with a 1-yard touchdown run by senior Scottie Williams.

The Eagles' intensity made it tough for South to gain offense momentum in the early going.

"Give credit where it is due," Belskis said. "The kids from Leyden played hard out there tonight, and they never quit."

It was anyone's game when the teams went into the locker room at halftime tied 7-7.

"We shot our self in the foot early in the game," Belskis said. "We put the ball on the ground and gave them a short field."

The second half was all South as the Mustangs racked up 23 points.

"We turned it up in the second half," senior linebacker Seth Carson said. "We were going for conference so we had all the motivation to win."

The Mustangs opened the half with a 56-yard touchdown pass to Jason Jozaites.

The big play proved to be a momentum builder for the Mustangs.

"They (Leyden) came out in the second half, and they were pumped up, as well they should be," Belskis said.

"I think that took the wind out of their sails a little bit. It was a third-and-long play and they had us on our heels and we executed the play.

You can tell it deflated their sidelines a little bit."

Leyden was never able to recover, and the Mustangs sped away.

South recovered a fumbled at the Leyden 25-yard line, and Reggie Miller ran it in from 23 yards, putting the Mustangs up 21-7 with 7:17 remaining in the third quarter.

The Mustangs added another third-quarter touchdown on a pass from Chandler Whitmer to Wes Manzer.

The Mustangs went up 27-7, and later added a field goal by Jim Kluta.

South extended its winning streak to seven games, and the team is feeling good headed into the playoffs.

"There are a lot of good teams," Carson said. "And we should be competitive in the playoffs."

"We feel great. We feel confident," Belskis said. "We have a lot of weapons on offense. I wouldn't want to play us."

There is certainly a different feeling in the air for Downers Grove South.

"It is an exiting time," Belskis said.

"We tell our kids that the two best times of the year to practice is when the car lights come on because you know you are in the playoffs.

The second is when it snows because you know it is close to Thanksgiving.

Now that we are playing with the car lights on, our goal is to play when it is snowing out."

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