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If Friday was any indication, Reilly O'Toole won't be taken aback by the spotlight when he steps on the field for his first collegiate game sometime in the future.

Playing in front of a large crowd in a game that was nationally televised by ESPNU, O'Toole quarterbacked his Wheaton Warrenville South squad to a 44-7 trouncing of Maine South, the defending Class 8A state champs. It was a sweet measure of revenge for O'Toole and Co., as Maine South handed the Tigers their only loss of a 2009 season that ended with a Class 7A state title.

O'Toole didn't shy from the spotlight, as he passed for 238 yards and three scores. In fact, the entire Tigers team embraced the opportunity.

"It was really cool. We had more fans turn out than usual," said O'Toole, who committed to the Illini in late June. "You'd never expect to see yourself on TV in high school. When you see yourself, it's surreal. It's pretty crazy. A different type of atmosphere than usual."

Wheaton Warrenville South was clicking on all cylinders, O'Toole said.

"I thought we were really prepared," he said. "We watched a lot of film during the week. We played really well in all three phases of the game. It felt good."

On Saturday, O'Toole said he caught the first half of the Illinois-Missouri football game before he had to leave to watch film with his teammates. Despite the Illini loss, O'Toole liked what he saw out of a team that outperformed the expectations of many.

"I thought the new offense looked really good," O'Toole said of the scheme run by first-year offensive coordinator Paul Petrino. "I think they'll turn it around here in a short amount of time."

O'Toole said the Illini's offense is similar to the one he runs at Wheaton Warrenville South. They predominantly go from under center but will mix it up with some shotgun, he said. He believes that will help him learn the playbook more quickly when he arrives on campus.

For now though, O'Toole and his teammates are focused on repeating as state champions. To make sure that happens, O'Toole said he's taken on more of a vocal leadership role with a team that lost the majority of its starters from a year ago. The win against Maine South was a big step in the right direction.

"Last year, we didn't play as well against them and we would have liked, so we kind of wanted to show them we could play with a team like that," O'Toole said. "We stepped it up and we beat them. It was a great feeling."