Passion missing in Warriors' loss

ST. CHARLES - Like a loveless marriage, Waubonsie Valley displayed no passion in its 21-0 loss to St. Charles East on Friday night.

Whatever spark the Warriors had in a near comeback against Prairie Ridge last week is still floating around somewhere in Crystal Lake.

"We came out here afraid to play tonight," Waubonsie coach Paul Murphy said. "Why? I don't know. We did not play with passion tonight. I understand it's the third game of the season, but how can you not play with passion when there are only nine games? That's something they've got to go home and ask themselves."

For Warriors fans it was a disappointing meeting between last year's Upstate Eight Conference co-champions. It was the first shutout loss for Waubonsie since 2006 and the first 0-3 start in a very long time. According to the IHSA.com's complete-season records dating back to 1996, Waubonsie hasn't begun a season at 0-3 in at least the last 12 years.

The Warriors (0-3, 0-1 UEC) seemed to have lost their offense on Friday, whereas St. Charles East (2-1, 1-0) knew exactly where to look for points - Wes Allen.

The senior running back carried the ball 22 times for 133 yards and two touchdowns. Meanwhile, Warriors quarterback Tyler Castro, who threw for 311 yards last week, managed to go 12 of 29 for 84 yards and threw two interceptions.

"We didn't execute," Murphy said. "Our receivers were like they were running in slow motion. Our linemen did a decent job, but our backs weren't hitting the holes when we did call the runs. There was a total breakdown of execution."

The Fighting Saints actually held Waubonsie to negative total rushing yards and the Warriors mustered only one first down by halftime. They finished the game with just six yards. But St. Charles East coach Ted Monken knew that zeroing in on Castro and the passing game was the key to success.

"The biggest thing was that we pressured the quarterback," Monken said. "A good quarterback like that will tear you apart. We had to keep him running."

St. Charles East successfully rebounded after a 34-7 loss to Geneva last weekend. Despite three turnovers against Waubonsie, the Saints were able to dominate the tempo of the game and keep the Warriors defense on the field most of the time.

Allen got his team on the board first when he broke free on a 26-yard touchdown run at the 1:57 mark of the first quarter. Daniel Keller completed the extra point and the Saints took a 7-0 lead and never looked back. Allen scored again on an 8-yard run in the second quarter and Kyle Wiebe busted up the middle on a 22-yard score to start the fourth. St. Charles East 21, Waubonsie Valley 0