Near the beginning of fall practice for Waubonsie Valley, senior Josh Siekierski won a battle with junior Colin Ford for the starting quarterback job. That wasn’t easy, but neither was this.
His first assignment Friday night came in the form of host Oswego East in the season opener, and Siekierski admitted how right before the kickoff he was feeling a tad bit overwhelmed.
“It’s my first varsity experience,” Siekierski said. “I almost got sick before the game. I got nervous. I came out there and took my first hit, and that really got me going.”
In a game where points, and even yardage, were hard to come by, Siekerski got enough going to guide the Warriors to a gritty 14-0 nonconference victory.
Siekierski only completed 9 of 15 passes for 96 yards and a touchdown, but he didn’t turn the ball over and calmly navigated Waubonsie (1-0) to the win in Adam Pucylowski’s debut as head coach.
Afterward, Siekerski said, “1-0 is 1-0. I just want to do my job. If I’m not completing a lot of passes but we’re winning games, it’s a great feeling.”
Pucylowski, who came in after being the defensive coordinator at Naperville Central, inherited two quarterbacks who were worthy of starting when he took over Waubonsie’s football program.
Eventually, he found a way to have both players contribute.
“We got to the point where we felt like in camp Josh gave us a little more consistency, and Colin stepped right up and said, ‘I’ll play another position,’” Pucylowski said. “We’re really happy that he did a selfless job for his teammates so we could see some success on the field.”
Siekierski’s first big play as quarterback came on a pass to Ford, who split the seam after an Oswego East fumble for a 34-yard pass. That set up Siekierski’s 5-yard TD pass to Chrisjan Simmons with 2:34 left in the first quarter.
“Colin is just an all-around athlete,” Siekierski said. “You can’t not use him in our offense.
“We’re just a great duo.”
Early in the fourth quarter, following a 67-yard interception return by Nate Cerilli, Ford punched in a 7-yard TD on the next play for some insurance.
It’s not how Ford envisioned his junior season, but he’s committed to helping his team.
“It was definitely difficult at first,” Ford said. “I’m still a quarterback — that’s my main priority. I’m just doing whatever I can to help the team. It felt great to help the team.”
Oswego East (0-1) actually outgained Waubonsie in yards 134-112, but three turnovers and 14 penalties scuttled any momentum the Wolves could gain.
“It seemed like every time we had a drive going or got a first down, we had a penalty, a turnover,” Oswego East coach Tyson LeBlanc said. “We can’t make mistakes.
“We have to clean that up if we’re going to have any success because the teams we play in our schedule are tough and not going to make mistakes.”
And Waubonsie definitely took advantage. Although the Warriors only had eight first downs, with two coming on TDs following Oswego East turnovers and two more coming on penalties by the Wolves, Pucylowski was happy with the toughness his team displayed to pull out the win.
“I’m really proud of our kids,” Pucylowski said. “There was never that moment of doubt, never that moment of quit. They had a heck of an effort.”
Ford confirmed it might not have been pretty, but the end result is what the Warriors were focused on after the game.
“We did what we had to do,” Ford said. “The defense played great. After the touchdown, we got slow offensively. Second half, we did what we needed to do.
“When we got by the goal line, we punched it in and did what we had to do to win.”
Paul Johnson is a freelance reporter for The Beacon-News.
