West misses opportunities

West Aurora head coach Buck Drach is making at least one change after the Blackhawks lost, 28-15, at home to Wheaton North on Friday night.

"I'm going to fire the offensive coordinator," Drach said. "That's me. I called a (expletive) game."

Five times the Blackhawks (3-2, 1-1 DuPage Valley Conference) made it to the red zone against the Falcons (2-2, 1-2). Four times West Aurora came away with nothing.

Quarterback John Nunnally threw two interceptions and Kevin Costin kicked a field goal that clanked off the post. But the one that hurt the most, figuratively and literally, was a 4th-and-goal rush by Nunnally midway through the fourth quarter.

After taking advantage of great field position at midfield, the Blackhawks, down by 15 points, marched down to the Falcons' 3-yard line.

Running back Colton Winston couldn't advance the ball. Neither could fellow running back Garrett Rivers. That left Nunnally running for the end zone on a bootleg.

He had already scored once on a rushing touchdown earlier in the game. A 40-yard run on which he should have been brought down a number of times before a spin move and Nunnally's speed led to the score.

Nunnally saw the hole on this run, and saw the end zone. He didn't count on Wheaton North's John Sambo.

"I didn't even see that guy coming," Nunnally said. "I thought I had a touchdown."

Instead, Nunnally laid on the ground in pain after the pile of Falcons fell on his left shoulder.

"I'm fine now," Nunnally said. "I just thought I had it."

The Blackhawks had lots of trouble stopping Wheaton North on the ground. Falcons running back Mike Trumpy rushed 26 times for 211 yards and three touchdowns, including a 74-yard scoring run just two plays after Costin's missed field goal.

Wheaton North made it a habit of making the Blackhawks pay for their mistakes. The Falcons scored 14 points off turnovers.

With top teams Wheaton Warrenville South and Naperville North next for the Blackhawks, Friday night's game appeared like a must-win contest if the Blackhawks hoped to make the playoffs.

Instead, with all of its mental mistakes, West Aurora played like a team that hasn't learned how to play in a big game, much less win one.

"We worked hard this week, we just had so many mental mistakes," Nunnally said. "Everybody did. Players and coaches. We knew we had to win this game."

Now, the Blackhawks must rebound quickly for Wheaton Warrenville South.

"They're all must win," Drach said. "We just need a little bit of luck. We need to be more dedicated in practice."

jsahly@scn1.com Wheaton North 28, West Aurora 15