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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