by Roy Taylor, Sun Correspondent

Wheaton Warrenville South’s stadium is named after Wheaton’s own legendary running back from the past, Red Grange. While it would be premature to name any stadiums after him at this point, if South sophomore Dan Dierking continues to perform as he did Friday night, plenty of accolades are sure to follow.

Dierking rushed for 225 yards and scored six touchdowns as South (6-1, 4-1 DuPage Valley Conference) beat visiting Wheaton North (2-5, 2-3) 40-28.

While Dierking and the Tigers were racking up yards on the ground, North quarterback Sean Norris put on a show of his own, passing for 255 yards and three touchdowns. Losing 34-14 in the fourth quarter, North recovered an onside kick and scored two more touchdowns to keep the game close to the end.

Dierking gave all the credit for his performance to his offensive line. “It was all the seniors, this was their night,” he said. “They opened up a lot of holes for me and I just ran through them. I’m kind of sad that we’re going to lose the whole offensive line next year, but we have a lot of good guys coming up.”

The Tigers rushed for 346 total yards on the evening despite North crowding the line of scrimmage with eight and nine defenders most of the game. South head coach Ron Muhitch echoed his running back’s praise for the line. “I give all the credit to them, our offensive line absolutely led us to victory tonight,” he said.

South quarterback Daniel Burns attempted only three passes on the night, completing all of them for 24 yards.

The Tigers seemed to score quickly all night. They started the evening off that way when Timothy Gerlesits returned the opening kickoff 68 yards to the North 20-yard line. From there, Dierking rushed for 18 yards on the way to his first score of the evening, a three-yard run, to put South up 7-0.

North would answer the Tigers’ first score on the next possession. The Falcons began their at their own 20, where Norris started a drive that covered 80 yards in over five and one-half minutes. The quarterback hit on three of his first four passes, rolling out most of the time and throwing across the field.

Key plays on North’s scoring drive included completions of 16 and 17 yards to Drew Kempe and Jon Gnidovic. On third-and-eight from the Tiger 33, Norris fired a perfect strike to Kempe to convert a crucial first down. Two plays later, Gnidovic swept left on an end-around and scored a 16-yard touchdown.

South regained possession after the Falcon touchdown and drove 48 yards on four plays to the North 14-yard line. Another quick score looked to be in the works, until a South fumble by Anthony Prignano was recovered by Kyle Evangelista at North’s one-yard line.

North came into this game with back-to-back wins. The week prior to that, they almost upset Naperville Central, and with this game tied 7-7 in the first quarter another upset looked possible. But after recovering the South fumble, the Falcons were pinned at their own one-yard line and could not advance.

North’s Norris managed a 34-yard punt from deep in his end zone, and five plays later Dierking scored on another three-yard run.

South’s next possession resulted in a winding, tackle-breaking run for a touchdown by Dierking, and the Tigers led North 21-7 at the half.

The stars of the evening, Norris and Dierking, both increased the tempo of their performances in the second half. Dierking first increased South’s lead to 14 points with another touchdown run, then Norris answered by directing the Falcons on an 80-yard drive. It was capped with a 24-yard touchdown pass to Dave Lindberg on fourth-and-eight.

South’s star runner saved his best play for the next drive, when he broke free down the left sideline for a 47-yard score. After a missed extra point due to a high snap, South held a 34-14 lead.

North reciprocated with another score after a 61-yard drive, and they trailed 34-21. Dierking added his final touchdown-his sixth-on the next drive, after which Muhitch had a decision to make. Leading 40-21, the coach elected to attempt a two-point conversion. South’s holder flipped the ball up to kicker Thomas Sarlina, who was stopped just inches away from converting.

“I’ve had to explain why we went for two,” Muhitch said. “Our defense is pretty good, but [North] has the ability to quick strike, which they proved tonight.” “We had to make up a point there, which is what we were trying to do.”

With four minutes remaining in the game, Norris lofted a perfect long pass, which was caught by a streaking Kempe for a 73-yard touchdown. After this score, North did recover an onside kick, but turned the ball over on downs with three minutes remaining. South then ran out the clock.

“Tonight was a great offensive performance, but credit needs to go to Wheaton North,” Muhitch said. “That’s a pretty darn good football team.”