Naperville Central 28, Wheaton South 13 

Redhawks second to none. 

By Bob Sakamoto 
Tribune Staff Writer 

September 18, 1999 

There were people everywhere you looked Friday night at Red 
Grange Field in Wheaton. 
Six television stations dispatched camera crews. CLTV 
stationed a reporter in Wheaton all afternoon to provide 
periodic updates on the pregame atmosphere. 
Could the showdown between top-ranked Wheaton Warrenville 
South and No. 2 Naperville Central possibly live up to all 
this hype? 
Ryan Clifford's performance went a long way to justifying 
the buildup. He rushed for 181 yards and four touchdowns in 
Naperville Central's 28-13 victory over Wheaton South 
before a crowd of 7,500. 

Wheaton's defense had Clifford under control until the 
5-foot-11-inch, 180-pound senior broke loose for two 
touchdown runs in the final 7 minutes 23 seconds to help 
the Redhawks wrest away the No. 1 ranking. Clifford's first 
score in the fourth quarter came on a 20-yard run in which 
he broke three tackles. 

"It doesn't matter if we're ranked No. 1, No. 25 or not 
ranked at all," said Clifford, who has scored 17 touchdowns 
this season. "It's all about beating the team on the other 
side of the field. In the fourth quarter, our offensive 
line started driving them off the ball and I started 
getting pumped up." 

Wheaton came in with a handicap when its best player, 6-4, 
216-pound receiver Jerome Collins, was sidelined with a 
knee injury suffered earlier in the week at practice. 
Collins said he and his parents decided Friday afternoon 
not to risk aggravating the injury and jeopardizing a 
college scholarship. An Ohio State assistant coach had come 
to town to check out Collins and Wheaton South defensive 
back Brett Bell. 

Wheaton quarterback Matt Alley completed 23 of 30 passes 
for 208 yards, but no touchdowns. Burns scored both of the 
Tigers' TDs on runs of 5 and 3 yards. 
After its defense thwarted Wheaton's initial drive, 
Naperville Central (4-0, 2-0) opened the scoring with 
Clifford's 18-yard touchdown run. Guard Ty Macko saved the 
drive with a recovery of a Clifford fumble at the Wheaton 
44. 

Wheaton South (3-1, 1-1) went on a 12-play march against a 
bending Naperville defense that was giving up the short 
pass but not allowing the big play. When the drive stalled, 
Bell missed a 26-yard field goal attempt. 

The Tigers' defense rose up to stop the Naperville attack, 
giving the offense the opportunity it needed. Quarterback 
Matt Alley methodically moved Wheaton down the field with 
three key completions to set up Burns' 5-yard touchdown 
run. 

Copyright 2000 The Chicago Tribune 

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