Falcons' offense, defense working in sync

Falcons wide receiver Chris Bradley eludes three Lake Zurich defenders.

Font Size

Email

Bookmark

Black Text

White Text

Everyone expects Wheaton North to score points behind running back Mike Trumpy and quarterback Taylor Graham.

But while this was happening, the Falcons were building a powerful defense to complement their offense.

And it showed its ability, manhandling defending Class 7A state champion Lake Zurich 26-7 on Sept. 5 in the Falcons' home opener.

"It has been great to have our defense on top of their game like they have been so far this year," Graham said. "It makes our job on offense that much easier when the defense give us great field position most of the night."

Both teams played exceptional defense the first quarter. With stacking six, seven and sometimes eight Bears defenders in the box, it was obvious Lake Zurich was set on stopping Trumpy and the Falcons' running game.

And for most of the first half they were successful, holding him to just 57 yards.

"It was a tough first half, no doubt," Trumpy said. "But our defense kept us in this one."

With the running game on hold, the Falcons turned to the air. Graham (13-of-21, 119 yards, two touchdowns) connected with Hunter Thorson for a 10-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the second quarter. The five-play, 58-yard drive had the Falcons ahead 7-0.

North (2-0), ranked No. 14 in the latest Chicago Sun-Times poll, wasted no time returning to the end zone with another scoring pass on its next possession.

This time Graham teamed up with Ivan Tamba for an 18-yard strike and the Falcons jumped out to a surprising 13-0 advantage at 9:39 of the second quarter.

"They did a great job executing," Lake Zurich coach Bryan Stortz said. "We felt we were well-prepared. They have a lot to contend with offensively and pushed our defense to the limit."

Lake Zurich (1-1) sputtered on offense as the Falcons defense would hold the Bears to just 31 yards on the ground and 52 yards of total offense the entire first half.

With great field position starting on the Lake Zurich 40, the Falcons drove to the Bears' 1-yard line on a Graham to Chris Bradley reception. One play later, Trumpy, who rushed for 230 yards, dove in from the 1 and North held a commanding 20-0 lead with just 11 seconds remaining in the half.

Second-half action now had the Bears having to respect the Falcons' passing game. This opened the door for a Trumpy 51-yard run down to the Lake Zurich 19. But for one of the few times in the contest the Bears held the potent Falcons offense in check, taking over on downs.

Having North pinned deep back at its own 9, it appeared Lake Zurich would finally get some decent field position to start the fourth quarter.

But Trumpy broke free up the middle, cut to the left sideline, and out-ran everyone for a 91-yard touchdown. The North running back's second touchdown of the night effectively put the game out of reach with just 6:30 left to play.

"Mike had to work for everything he got tonight," Graham said. "But he is so strong, eventually you know it's just a matter of time before he breaks one open."

The North defense took over from there, stopping two Lake Zurich efforts in the Falcons' red zone midway through the quarter.

A meaningless Lake Zurich Tom Flaherty score with 4:32 remaining was the only blemish on the evening, as North now moves into DuPage Valley Conference play with lots of momentum.

"We know we have a long way to go," Wheaton North coach Joel Wardynski said. "This was a big win against a state champion like Lake Zurich, but we have one of the toughest conferences in the area in the DVC, so we still need to stay focused."

Comment at glenellynsun.com and thewheatonsun.com