Wheaton Warrenville South defense answers the challenge, knocks off Neuqua Valley in OT

NAPERVILLE – Defense was the highlight for both teams as host Neuqua Valley and Wheaton Warrenville South battled Sept. 2.

The Tigers (1-1) got some timely offense in overtime to win 10-7.

In the season-opening loss to Simeon, WW South surrendered more than 300 yards on the ground. Coach Sean Norris said that had to change.

“We challenged the defense and they had an unbelievable response,” Norris said. “We worked on basic things like tackling and pursuing and the offense made enough plays.”

The Tigers held Neuqua (1-1) to 115 rushing yards.

WW South got the ball first in extra time with play beginning at the 10-yard line. The series started with two incomplete passes before quarterback Luca Carbonaro ran to the 4-yard line. That set up a chip shot for kicker Maison Haas, who sailed the kick right down the middle for a 10-7 advantage.

The Wildcats fumbled on their possession. Lucas Rossini recovered the ball to seal the win for WW South.

Norris said the defense played well overall, mentioning outstanding performances from Charlie Butt and Colin Moore in the secondary, defensive lineman Andrew Moore and linebacker Zach Choromokos.

Neuqua got on the board first with a seven-play, 50-yard drive that was capped by quarterback Mark Mennecke’s 10-yard keeper with 4.3 seconds left until halftime.

Mennecke was injured on the play and tried to play during Neuqua’s first two drives of the second half, but was taken out. Coach Bill Ellinghaus said Mennecke has a bad ankle sprain.

“The defense played extremely well. When you give up just seven points, that’s more than you can ask for,” Ellinghaus said. “The offense struggled tonight. The line played well. We would get some momentum and then have a miscue and then we played behind the chains and that’s tough to do against a defense like Wheaton Warrenville South.”

The Tigers tied the game on a 44-yard pass from Carbonaro to Daijion Riley with 8:05 left in the fourth quarter.

https://football.dailyherald.com/sports/20220902/ww-south-bounces-back-with-ot-win-at-neuqua-valley/