When Matt Crider, Wheaton-Warrenville South’s No. 1 running back, was hurt at the end of practice Friday, it was obvious the Tigers would need players to step up in other phases of the game.
Cue Maison Haas.
Haas led a stout defensive effort by picking off two Simeon passes, kicked a 42-yard field goal and an extra point and handled kickoff, punting and punt-return duties.
It was enough to help the Tigers grind out a 12-6 victory against the Wolverines on Saturday in Wheaton.
Haas and the WW South defense held Simeon’s passing game to 18 yards and didn’t allow an offensive touchdown. Preparation was the key.
‘‘It just felt perfect all the way through,’’ Haas said. ‘‘A lot of it comes down to what you do over the past week and what leads up to [the game]. You can anticipate what happens. Just knowing that I know what they’re going to run, I can be in a position to make a play.’’
Haas has been playing defensive back pretty much his entire career. He came to kicking more recently and hopes to carry on the Tigers’ strong tradition at that position. Haas remembers coming to games and watching Jack Olsen (now at Northwestern), who set an IHSA record with eight field goals in a game in 2018.
‘‘My parents are really close to the Olsens, as well,’’ Haas said. ‘‘So I’ve gotten instruction from Jack Olsen, and I’ve known him for a little bit.’’
‘‘He’s just a great competitor,’’ WW South coach Sean Norris said of Haas. ‘‘He’s just got a big heart, like a lot of these seniors. . . . We told [the team] how important special teams would be, and they bought in, especially Maison.’’
The Tigers’ offense was a work in progress with Crider on crutches and in a walking boot and No. 2 running back Max Schlegel also banged up. Sophomore Owen Yorke, promoted for this game, showed promise with three runs of 10 yards or more.
But the Tigers leaned on returning quarterback Luca Carbonaro, who kept the chains moving by completing 12 of 16 passes for 145 yards.
‘‘Luca had a lot of experience from last year and had to deal with a lot of pressure in his face,’’ Norris said. ‘‘He did a nice job and made some big throws when we needed it.’’
Carbonaro’s 17-yard touchdown pass to Amari Williams with 6:51 left in the second quarter put WW South up for good at 10-6. That score was bookended by Haas’ first-quarter field goal and a safety that happened when Simeon snapped the ball out of the end zone on a punt in the third quarter.
Simeon’s score came late in the first quarter, when Dewayne Brooks stripped the ball from a WW South receiver after a short reception and ran it back 23 yards.
Te’Shon McGee ran 14 times for 79 yards for the Wolverines, and quarterback Keshaun Parker added 50 yards on 10 carries.
‘‘We brought back quite a few of my defensive players from last year,’’ said Simeon interim coach Derrick Hunter Sr., who was the defensive coordinator last season. ‘‘The offense is playing catch-up. We’ll be all right.’’
Hunter is looking forward to having more reinforcements after the Wolverines dressed 35 players.
‘‘We’ve got 64,’’ Hunter said. ‘‘We just weren’t able to bring all of them today.’’
