By Bobby Narang
Willowbrook and Downers Grove South High Schools hooked up for a memorable early-season football clash in the West Suburban Gold Friday, Sept. 15.
Downers South came into the key Conference game without a victory, in spite playing its first three games at home. The Willowbrook possessed a two-game winning streak to bring some momentum into the road tilt.
With the two teams squaring off for an early edge in the Conference race, it was no surprise the outcome would not be decided until the final play of the game. Willowbrook drove the ball the length of the field to the Mustangs’ 19-yard line, but failed on four straight incompletions and Downers Grove South escaped with a 28-21 victory.
Downers Grove South senior running back Deon Davis was one of the stars in the victory by rushing for a two one-yard TDs, including the game-winner with 1:22 remaining in the fourth quarter.
“I was screaming for the ball (at the end),” Davis said of his second TD. “It felt great to score.”
Downers Grove South senior quarterback Will Potter, who signed to play baseball for Missouri Southern State University, won his first game as a starter after being converted from a safety during the offseason.
“We didn’t really have a quarterback, so I just stepped up,” Potter said. “I kind of had a feeling halfway through my junior year that I was going to play quarterback, so I started taking second-team reps behind Ryan Dawson. I kind of fell in love with it, so I worked the entire offseason. It’s been a blast.”
Willowbrook head coach Nick Hildreth said it was frustrating loss for his team.
“It came down to some spots of execution late, where Downers Grove South had some big third downs they picked up to beat us,” Hildreth said. “We showed a sense of urgency late, but not early on. We didn’t consistently move the chains to have things to go back to that we were confident in.”
At 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, Willowbrook senior quarterback Arthur Palicki is on the opposite end of the spectrum. Quarterback is his main position. Palicki has all the desired measurables that colleges are seeking in a quarterback to go with his running ability. In the first three weeks of the season, he passed for 550 yards, ran for 250 yards for 10 total touchdowns. He threw for 176 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 66 yards and two TDs against the Mustangs.
“I haven’t talked to any (college) coaches since the season started,” Palicki said. “I’ve received some (interest) after a good game last week from some schools, like Grand Valley State, Winona State and Valparaiso. I have an offer from Winona State, and I had an offer from Northern Iowa, but they ended up taking another kid.”
“It’s been a little rough around the edges with a couple of tough losses, but we are rallying together as a team to get back on track and win some football games.”
Downers Grove South head coach Mark Molinari said Potter is a tough-as-nails player willing to sacrifice himself to help the team.
“He’s a throwback kid you can trust, when you put the game ball in his hands because he will make some good decisions,” Molinari said. “He’s the best one that we’ve got for this year. Hopefully, he will lead us to five more victories and get on a roll and we get into the playoffs.”