Maine South Hands Tigers 2nd Straight Loss

PARK RIDGE—After Wheaton Warrenville South handed Maine South a 44-7 defeat around this time last season, the Hawks were staring at an 0-2 record, yet ended up in Champaign Thanksgiving weekend hoisting the Class 8A state title trophy.

Following Friday night’s tough 13-9 loss to the three-time defending Class 8A state champs Hawks, the Tigers ironically find themselves facing a similar road one year later with an 0-2 start.

The first thing Maine South head coach Dave Inserra told WWS coach Ron Muhitch after the final horn Friday is that if his team can play for a state championship after going 0-2, so can the Tigers.

“We know it can be done,” Inserra said. “They’ve got it in them over there. They’re a great program.”

While Muhitch appreciates the vote of confidence, righting the Tigers’ ship following consecutive losses is his top priority at the moment.

“I feel real bad for our team in the way that we’re self-destructing at key moments,” he said. “And that’s a sign of young kids; that’s a sign of pressure moments. And there were some plays that were made.”

Especially by the Tigers’ defensive and specials teams units, both of which played exceptional throughout the contest. They put a vice grip, in particular, on the Hawks’ two big offensive guns—quarterback Matt Alviti and 5-foot-3 tailback Paul Preston—during the second half.

WWS Defense Shines in 2nd Half

Maine South didn’t pick up its initial first down of the second half until 3:31 remaining in the game and accumulated just 44 yards in total offense during the final 24 minutes. Preston, who ended up with 100 yards on 18 carries, gained just 17 yards in the second half. Alviti, who had 58 yards rushing and 108 yards through the air, rushed for 13 second-half yards and passed for 24.

Keep in mind that Alviti amassed more than 3,000 yards passing with 24 touchdowns as a sophomore last season, while Preston gained 1,240 yards and scored 21 TDs.

“If we played No. 1 (Maine South) and we truly have played No. 2 (last Sunday), the problem with it all: We can’t beat No. 3, and that’s us,” Muhitch said. “We’re beating ourselves. Glenbard came at us, but I tell you the effort tonight by our team was exceptional. If that’s (Maine South) the top passing game in the land, I’d say our defense showed up tonight.”

Trailing 13-7 at intermission, the Tigers put themselves in great field position midway through the third quarter following a booming punt by Nick Campos that pinned the Hawks on their own 1-yard line.

Maine South couldn't move the ball and ended up punting from deep in its own end zone. Senior linebacker Dan Roadman broke through to block the punt, resulting in a safety as the ball went out of bounds.

“The coaches made some changes at halftime,” Roadman said. “They put defensive guys off the edge and I was going my hardest off the edge. They bobbled the snap a couple of times and gave me a chance. I just wish I would have landed on it in the end zone.”

Graham Enters Game in 3rd Quarter

Sophomore quarterback Ryan Graham took over for senior starter Thaddeus Armstrong on the Tigers’ next series following the safety. WWS crisply ran the ball as Graham scrambled for 12 yards and Dan Vitale carried for gains of 9 and 5 yards, respectively. But that drive stalled out.

Maine South went three-and-out on its next offensive series, and Roadman came up huge again for the Tigers, blocking another Hawks punt with 1:05 to go in the quarter. Senior Colin Schwerin recovered the ball on Maine South’s 16-yard line.

Graham (8 of 16, 49 yards) gave the Tigers a first-and-goal from the 6-yard line on a 10-yard run, but WWS couldn’t punch it in. Maine South threw Graham for a loss on fourth-and-goal.

“Ryan came in and gave us a little spark at quarterback,” Muhitch said. “We had some chances. We drop a ball in the first quarter when I think we really had them on the ropes in the end zone. That puts us up 14-0, not 14-7, and I think that was huge.”

WWS capitalized on a short punt by Maine South in the first quarter to go up 7-0. Mike Shelton returned the punt to the Hawks’ 25-yard line; then, Armstrong (5 of 15, 40 yards) found Zach Zlabis for a 22-yard gain to the 1-yard line. Patrick Garner scooted in from there for the TD.

A little later, the Tigers got the ball back after Jack Lipinsky recovered a fumble on the Hawks’ 34-yard line. Unfortunately, the Tigers didn’t produce any points off the turnover as that dropped pass in the end zone to which Muhitch made reference occurred during this series.

Maine South (2-0) cut the Tigers’ lead to 7-6 with 23 seconds left in the first quarter on a 2-yard TD sneak by Alviti. Preston scooted into the end zone from 1 yard out at 7:35 of the second quarter, which proved to be the game-deciding touchdown.

At QB: Armstrong or Graham?

Armstrong completed 5 of 15 attempts for 40 yards before giving way to Graham in the third quarter, but a handful of those incompletions were the result of dropped passes. 

When asked who he might be leaning towards—Armstrong or Graham—to start next Friday’s DuPage Valley Conference opener next Friday vs. West Aurora, Muhitch replied: “I’ve got more decisions than that. I’ve got to find out who my left guard is; I’ve got to find out who my right guard is. And I’ve got to find consistent football play out of more kids. And until we find that, we’re going to be like this. We’re going to struggle.”

The Tigers certainly aren’t struggling defensively. Roadman recorded two sacks in addition to his two blocked punts, and senior end Mark Rooney sacked Alviti twice during the first quarter.

The last time WWS started a season 0-2—1997—they ended up making the playoffs. Roadman is hoping for a similar turnaround this year.

“This team (Maine South) was 0-2 last year and they went on to great things,” he said. “Right now, the most important thing is that we come together. We come together as a unit and we’ll start winning games and we’ve got to work our hardest in practice each day. We’ll improve; there’s no doubt about that.”