The rumors of the demise of the Downers Grove South offense have been greatly exaggerated.
After struggling to score 10 points in a victory over Bolingbrook last week, the No. 8 Mustangs came up big.
Quarterback Chandler Whitmer completed 9 of 24 passes for 194 yards and three scores and 6-foot-2-inch receiver Wes Manzer hauled in five passes for 133 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-21 romp at No. 11 York on Friday night in Elmhurst.
Downers South (2-0) used a quick-strike offense and a swarming defense to build a 28-14 halftime lead and never looked back.
Three of the Mustangs’ five scoring drives took less than one minute and none took more than five plays. The defense registered seven sacks.
“I think we had some players last week who made bad decisions and they decided to step it up tonight,” Manzer said.
“People all over were stepping up and making themselves heroes.”
Manzer was one of them, pulling down scoring catches of 9 and 63 yards. In addition, senior Jared Culver, who had two sacks, scored on runs of 8 and 17 yards. Nick Brown led all rushers on the night with 116 yards on 19 carries for Downers South.
York (1-1) briefly held a 7-6 lead less than a minute after Culver’s touchdown run early in the first, when Mike McNulty returned a kickoff 91 yards for a score with 8:57 left. But Manzer’s 63-yard TD reception two plays later put the Mustangs on top for good.
York struggled early and turned to junior QB Tom Judge late in the first half. Judge finished 15-for-25 for 120 yards and a touchdown.
