"I felt like I was going to wake up at any time," said Falcons senior tailback A.J. Harris. Wheaton North thumped Warren 61-6 Saturday night at Rexilius Field in the Class 8A quarterfinals to advance the Falcons into the state semifinals for the first time since 1988. It's the most points ever scored by a Wheaton North playoff team in 32 games.

Wheaton North (9-3), seeded 20th, advances to play DuPage Valley Conference rival and top-seeded Naperville Central (12-0) next week with a spot in the state championship game on the line.

The matchup guarantees that the DVC will have a representative in a state title game for the fourth straight year and the seventh time in eight years. Naperville Central beat Wheaton North 35-14 in their regular-season meeting. The Falcons have never lost in six quarterfinal games.

"Everything was going our way," said Wheaton North quarterback Zach Ullrich. "Our whole team's stepping up right now. Everyone's making plays. Everybody's clicking."

On the second play from scrimmage, Harris (10 carries, 143 yards) burst through the line and ran 57 yards for a touchdown. It only got better from there for Wheaton North. The Falcons scored on all seven first-half possessions, taking a 26-0 lead at the end of the first quarter and a 54-0 lead into the half on Mark Ryan's 43-yard interception return for a touchdown.

Wheaton North amassed 337 first-half yards to just 49 for Warren (8-4). The Blue Devils managed just 2 first downs in the half, and finished with 150 yards total offense.

What ended up burying Warren, however, was turnovers. Not only did the Blue Devils toss 2 interceptions, but they fumbled the ball away four times.  Five of the turnovers resulted in Wheaton North touchdowns. Three of them came in the first quarter in a span of a little more than two minutes.

Warren trailed 13-0 before turning the ball over for the first time. After the three fumbles, it was 33-0. "We got a lot of nice turnovers and a lot of breaks," said Falcons linebacker Ian Shaw. "I said before the game that if we get it rolling, don't look back. And we didn't. It was amazing. I blinked and we were up by 26."

The entire second half was played with a running clock.

Wheaton North wound up with 442 yards of offense, including 308 on the ground. Ullrich completed 9 of 10 passes for 126 yards and 3 touchdowns, including two to Mike Glienke and a third to Dareon Spencer.

Falcons fullback Andy Cvengros rushed for 86 yards on 14 carries and 2 touchdowns.

Warren, led on the ground by Justin Williams (7 carries, 29 yards), scored its touchdown late in the fourth quarter on backup quarterback Dan Treiber's 12-yard pass to Paul Dubler (4 catches, 31 yards).

"We didn't play our best game of the season, unfortunately," said Warren coach Dave Mohapp. "but sometimes that happens."