In the aftermath of Waubonsie Valley’s 24-14 loss to Naperville Central in the second round of the 8A postseason on Saturday, Waubonsie Valley coach Paul Murphy put things in perspective.
“I’m just proud of them. I asked them, ‘Raise your hand if anybody thought we’d be 9-2 starting Aug. 11?’ You know, this team is a great team, but we’re not as talented as that team that we just lost to,” Murphy said. “That team is bigger than us. They’re stronger than us and we play with heart. Our kids have worked their tail off since last November. We had 45 guys with 100 percent attendance from November to Aug. 11 in the weight room. In 38 years of coaching, I’ve never had a group that dedicated to proving that they were a good football team.”
For the second time since Murphy took over the Warriors’ program prior to the 2005 season, the Warriors won at least nine games, joining the 2012 team that went 10-2 before losing to Neuqua Valley, 23-20, in the program’s first state quarterfinal appearance since 1994.
And for the first time since 2010, they can lay claim to at least a piece of a conference title while also beating Neuqua Valley for the first time since 2011.
“Probably back when we were getting ready to play Neuqua, I asked, before we brought up the sophomores at the end of the season, 65 varsity guys how many had ever won a conference championship in youth football or freshman or sophomore year? Three guys raised their hand. So for us to tie for the conference championship and beat Neuqua was a hell of an accomplishment for this group.
“To beat Metea a second time out of conference (in a 21-14 Class 8A first-round victory), to go toe-to-toe with these guys (from Naperville Central) for three quarters was a great accomplishment. We got every ounce of ability that we could get out of this team.”
Senior quarterback Zack Bennema, co-Upstate Eight Valley Offensive Player of the Year, led a Waubonsie Valley offense that averaged 33.1 points a game and saw senior running back Tony Durns ran for 1,146 yards and 13 touchdowns on 156 carries.
Bennema accumulated 1,795 total yards and 27 touchdowns in his one and only year running Murphy’s triple option attack.
“You’re talking about a kid who was a backup last year on a quality playoff team and we had seen signs that he could run the option last year when he ran scout team and we saw it all summer,” Murphy said. “He did decently in 7-on-7 passing game and we just had to develop everything. I mean, the passing game wasn’t anywhere ready earlier in the year because we had five new starters on the offensive line, two new juniors who had never taken a snap before in a varsity game. So we had to be patient.
“For a kid that was a B-team quarterback as a freshman to be your starting quarterback as a senior, I think that says a lot about his moxie and about his dedication and his work ethic. He’s a leader. He had these kids going to 7-on-7 all winter and spring on their own. Going to different things just to keep working and get better.
Three starting offensive linemen, led by All-Upstate Eight Valley selection Tyler Caldwell, will be back to protect whoever succeeds Bennema as the starting quarterback while trying to create running holes for a pair of juniors, Max Ihry and Rodney Gee.
Ihry, who did well in Durns’ stead in Waubonsie Valley’s 21-14 Class 8A first-round victory in running for 121 yards and a TD, will return next year as the only defensive starter back from this season.
From his linebacker spot, Ihry, an All-Upstate Eight Valley pick, recorded 110 tackles while finishing second on the team with 5 ½ sacks and leading the team with four interceptions.
“We got every ounce of ability that we could get out of this team. I couldn’t be happier (with the) legacy that they’re leaving behind. Like one of the seniors said at the end, ‘We challenge you juniors to beat when we did last year in terms of the weight room.’ … They got nothing to be ashamed of. They’re going to look back (with pride). There’s things they’ve accomplished since the end of last year when we lost to Oswego that are going to be hard for any team in the future to top, in terms of work ethic, in terms of getting the most out of your ability. I couldn’t be prouder.
“I mean, there’s not a Division I kid on that team. We got Division III kids and a couple kids who could play Division II, but we don’t have one Division I kid on that football team right now. I mean, Ihry could be by the time he’s done playing because he’s coming back. I’m talking about the seniors. Those kids just did one hell of a job for us.”
