Trojans' defense stymies Pirates

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To Downers Grove North coach John Wander, there was one thing the Trojans had to do to beat Proviso East Friday in the second round of the Class 7A playoffs.

“In order for us to be successful, we can’t let up the big play,” Wander said.

Wander’s defense -- led by linebacker Dan Sheppard, defensive end Conner Edwards, defensive back Jonathan Galligan and defensive tackle Ryan Mussatto -- did just that and more, sacking Pirates quarterback William Crowder eight times en route to a 16-0 win.

The Trojans’ victory comes a week after they shut down state power Wheaton Warrenville South in a 8-7 win in the first round. Against Proviso East (8-3), Downers North (7-4) allowed only two plays of 20 or more yards.

“We believe we are a good team and we believe in ourselves,” Sheppard said. “We worked all week on [getting pressure]. We knew they passed a lot, and we just wanted to get to their quarterback.”

With its defense holding, Downers North’s ground attack featuring Sheppard, who also plays quarterback, and running backs Jermal Jones and Joe Tokarski took control.

Jones (21 carries, 92 yards) scored on a 10-yard run with 11:41 remaining in the second quarter after Proviso East punter Marc Jones recovered a bad snap at his own 10.

Sheppard attempted only one pass all game and found the end zone with 2:25 remaining on a five-yard run. Tokarski finished with 89 yards on 17 carries.

Sheppard's score came five minutes after Edwards and Galligan forced Jones out of the end zone after another bad snap for a safety.

“If we stopped them, we knew we would be fine,” Sheppard said.