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Slippery Maine South QB Matt Alviti eludes Wheaton South defensive scheme
Maine South defender Trent Orr chases after Wheaton-Warrenville South's Kevin Giltz braces during Friday's game. | Patrick Gleason ~ For Sun-Times Media
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Updated: September 1, 2012 1:50AM
WHEATON — The play that defined Friday night’s game at Wheaton Warrenville South didn’t result in a score.
It didn’t even have much to do with the result, a 19-13 win for top-ranked Maine South over No. 6 WW South.
But it gave a glimpse into why the Hawks (2-0) are so hard to beat and so tough to game-plan against for opposing defensive coordinators.
Maine South was guarding a 19-7 lead and trying to at least work the clock, if not punch it in for another score. The Hawks had taken over on their seven-yard line with 5:00 left and got some breathing room with Clay Burdelik’s 26-yard dash to the 33.
Then senior quarterback Matt Alviti dropped back to pass.
He scrambled left, found himself cornered and reversed his field, dashing back to the right sideline for what turned out to be a 20-yard gain.
It was the same slippery style he employed in the third quarter when he bought enough time to hit Michael Bosco with an 11-yard scoring pass on third-and-10.
That made it 19-7 and gave the Hawks enough cushion to earn their second straight road win and avenge a running-clock loss to the Tigers the last time they came to Wheaton two years ago.
Bosco has learned to be ready for anything when Alviti starts freelancing.
‘‘You always got to be on your (toes) with Matt because the play could go on a long time,’’ he said. ‘‘You’ve got to break off your route and look for the ball.’’
What happens often is that defenders can’t maintain their coverage, giving Bosco and his fellow receivers an easy touchdown out of a broken play.
On that score, he said, ‘‘I was waiting to get hit — I was ready to get hit.’’
But he didn’t, and he had his second big play of the third quarter. The first was an interception of WW South’s Ryan Graham that set up Alviti’s 39-yard touchdown run. That score broke a 7-7 tie and put the Hawks ahead to stay.
The Northwestern recruit also ran seven yards for Maine South’s first score with 9:21 left in the second quarter.
WW South (0-2) tied it 25 seconds before halftime when Graham hit Brandon Moore with a 12-yard scoring pass.
The Tigers’ other score came on the last play of the game on a four-yard pass from Graham to Cole Krynicki.
Alviti was 15-for-27 for 140 yards and ran 16 times for 117 yards. Burdelik had 13 carries for 113 yards.
Graham was 14-for-133 for 178 yards and ran 18 times for 50 yards.
