Waubonsie Valley tight end Chuck Robinson caught his fourth touchdown of the game, dropped the ball, faced the sideline and danced as flags flew all around him. You could see the large smile on his face through his helmet. He wasn’t the least bit worried about the resulting unsportsmanlike conduct penalty and neither were his teammates.
“Not at all, he earned that,” Warriors quarterback Tanner Westwood said.
Waubonsie Valley, the No. 31 seed in Class 8A, traveled to Hinsdale and shocked No. 2 seed Hinsdale Central 33-23 on Saturday.
The Red Devils were undefeated and seemed poised for a deep run in the state tournament. But then Chuck Robinson happened. The junior caught six passes for 214 yards with touchdowns of 34, 56, 65 and 11 yards.
“I watched a lot of film and saw they weren’t very physical and I’m a very physical guy,” Robinson said. “I knew they didn’t want to come out here and hit me so I came out and hit them first.”
Hinsdale Central quarterback Josh Bean scored on a four-yard run with 7:33 to play in the game to give the Red Devils a 21-20 lead. It seemed that the Red Devils (9-1) were about to assert control of the game.
Waubonsie Valley (6-4) responded almost immediately with a 65-yard touchdown on a pass over the middle from Westwood to Robinson. The pair sealed the win on the next drive with the 11-yard pass that triggered Robinson’s dance.
“It’s got to be Chuck’s best game ever, ever in his life,” Westwood said. “He was just the open man and he’s easy to find.”
Westwood finished 8-for-15 for 215 yards with the four touchdown passes and no interceptions. He also rushed six times for 41 yards and one touchdown.
“From watching film I didn’t see why we couldn’t beat them,” Westwood said. “Their pass defense had a lot of holes in it. Their run defense was good, but I thought we had the upper hand in the passing game.”
Quaid Lamar Gill had 13 rushes for 58 yards and Nate Ashford added 18 carries for 26 yards for the Warriors. This is the second consecutive year that Waubonsie Valley has pulled off a major upset in the first round of the state playoffs, last season Edwardsville was the victim.
“All the seniors remembered that and knew what was possible today,” Westwood said. “We all knew we could get the job done. We knew what was on the line and we were just focused and ready to execute. Next week is going to be even crazier.”
Bean finished 9-for-17 for 146 yards and one touchdown. He threw an interception on his final pass of the game, a Hail Mary effort into the end zone. It was Robinson that batted the ball away, right into the hands of Josh Dominiak. It was just Robinson’s day.
“Everything just worked out,” Robinson said. “I’m a tight end, so most guys don’t think I have the speed to outrun them but once I get on the field I show them I’m underestimated.”
The Warriors will face Lincoln-Way East next weekend in the second round.
