With playoff berths already secure, Wheaton-Warrenville South and Naperville North played for position and postseason momentum Friday night.
The reward for the winner: a higher seed when the Class 6A pairings are announced Saturday night.
No. 5 Naperville North (8-1, 6-1) gained the upper hand over No. 7 Wheaton-Warrenville South (7-2, 5-2), taking advantage of three turnovers on the way to a 27-14 Du Page Valley Conference victory.
Jeremy Walsh scored three touchdowns to lead the Huskies.
“What we tried to impress on the kids was that you end your season 8-1 and maybe you can get a second seed in the playoffs,” said Huskies coach Larry McKeon. “When you’re playing Wheaton-Warrenville South, it’s not going to get any more important than this.”
With sloppy field conditions and an on-and-off cold drizzle, keeping a handle on the ball was a priority. That point was driven home on the game’s first play when Wheaton South fumbled at its own 26-yard line.
The bobble was costly: Walsh scored on a 20-yard run on his team’s third play.
Wheaton-Warrenville South bounced back late in the quarter, taking advantage of a Naperville North fumble to tie the game at 7-7 on a 25-yard TD run by Kelly Crosby.
But the tie was short-lived, as the Huskies scored twice during a five-minute span in the second period.
Huskies quarterback Scott Kavanagh gave his team a 14-7 lead on a 38-yard keeper with 9 minutes 57 seconds left in the half.
Three plays later, the Tigers had another fumble that ultimately proved costly.
An eight-play, 58-yard drive ended in another Walsh score, this time a 20-yard run.
Midway through the third quarter, Walsh scored his third TD on a 2-yard pass from Kavanagh, boosting the Huskies’ lead to 27-7 with 5:31 left.
The victory gave the Huskies second place in the DuPage Valley behind Naperville Central. Wheaton-Warrenville South (7-2, 5-2) finished third.
