Football: Wheaton North blows past Bartlett in opener
By Joe Cosentino For Sun-Times Media August 24, 2012 10:42PM
Updated: November 30, 2012 11:32AM
Wheaton North rolled over Bartlett 49-0 Friday night in a nonconference season opener at Millennium Field field in Streamwood.
Patrick Sharp led the Falcons attack with 54 yards on 9 carries and two touchdowns. Thorson Clayton (3 carries for 98 yards) scored two touchdowns and passed for one.
The Falcons opened the scoring two minutes into the first quarter. Defensive back Howze Jaylen stripped the ball from Hawks quarterback Steve Hrbacek on a play action allowing Martin Beau to pick up the ball at the Hawks’ 48 yard line and sprint all the way for the touchdown. Hrbacek left the game with a shoulder injury.
“We had some big plays tonight,” said Wheaton North coach Joe Wardynski. “Getting a sack, a strip and a score early on set the tone defensively.”
The Falcons continued to pound the Hawks’ defense, scoring four more times before the half ended. Clayton had a 53-yard reception from John Peltz (7 for 11 and 101 yards). Clayton took over at quarterback and connected with Tom Colletti (4 reception for 41 yards) for 15 yards, and Sharp scored touchdowns on runs of 5 and 2 yards.
The Falcons defense placed all 11 players within five yards of the line of scrimmage throughout the game to stop the Hawks cold on every drive.
“Based on the formations they were giving us that’s where we are going to line up,” said Wardynski. “They didn’t really spread the field very much so we packed the box.”
Colletti scored his second touchdown on a 2-yard pass from Peltz in the third quarter. Clayton scored his second touchdown on a 53-yard run in the fourth quarter to seal the win.
“We had a slow start on offense so that score by the defense was huge for us,” said Peltz. “That shifted the momentum … Our defense stepped up a ton today.”
