Larkin: October 2008 Archives

By Troy Murray
For The Courier News

AURORA -- Larkin's hopes of becoming playoff eligible were dashed during a disastrous second half Friday night at Waubonsie Valley.

The Royals lost 51-13 to the Warriors in Upstate Eight Conference play after trailing just 14-7 at halftime. The game was delayed by inclement weather and did not start until around 9 p.m.

An in-depth look at week 9's Upstate Eight Conference games in the area.

Larkin football passed its first must-win test of the season last week, defeating Elgin in the Town Jug game.

The job gets more difficult tonight when the Royals visit Waubonsie Valley. Larkin sits at 4-4 and needs a victory to become playoff eligible.

With the 2008 regular season about to end, what better time to take a look ahead to what we might expect in 2009.

Although a number of area teams are dominated by talented seniors this year, there are a plenty of underclassmen making a big impact.

Look no further than Bartlett and Huntley, the two unbeaten teams in the area, to find some of the best young talent around.

Picking one story line from Saturday's annual Town Jug game isn't easy, but what would you expect from a rivalry as storied and complex as this one?

It's rivalry week here in Courier country, and in my opinion there's no better week on this year's schedule.

There's something about showdowns between natural rivals -- whether they play in the same town or in neighboring communities - that always seems to bring out the best effort from players, coaches, student cheering sections and sometimes even entire communities.

This weekend, area fans can't go wrong by going out to any one of three local showdowns. On Friday, Hampshire and Burlington Central will renew pleasantries in Burlington. Meanwhile, St Charles North and St. Charles East will be squaring off on the northwest side of St. Charles. On Saturday morning, Elgin and Larkin will meet for the 48th time at Memorial Field.

So what is it that separates these games from the rest? Answering this question has a number of layers.

Here's a look at the all-time series between the Elgin and Larkin, plus some of the all-time team records from the Town Jug series.

Week Seven's Courier Prep Football Weekly's Game of the Week didn't quite live up its name on Friday night. St. Charles North laid down the hammer on Larkin, putting up 41 unanswered points in the first half and rolling to a 41-0 victory with a running clock in the second half.

St. Charles East coach Ted Monken is never one to shy away from a shootout.

Then again, that should come as no surprise when he's got a gunslinger like senior running back Wes Allen, who ran for six touchdowns each of the past two weeks.

Despite those heroics, the Saints could only earn a spit in those two games, beating Lake Park 42-41 in double overtime in Week 5 before dropping a 49-42, four-overtime affair against Neuqua Valley last week.

Could East be in for another wild affair this week?