St. Charles North: October 2008 Archives

It's playoff time for Hampshire, Genoa-Kingston, Bartlett, St. Charles North, St. Charles East and Huntley.

St. Charles North heads into its seventh straight postseason appearance after a solid victory against a program that was fighting for its playoff life last Friday.

The North Stars went into Naperville and left Neuqua Valley with a 20-0 victory and the Wildcats' playoff hopes as well. Neuqua, despite 54 playoff points, won't be playing a 10th game for the first time since 2001.

BY. R.J. GERBER
AND BRANDON MANGIA
Staff Writers

Hampshire and Genoa-Kingston don't need any introductions.

The two schools are separated by only nine miles and have a long history on the football field. And the two programs will renew their rivalry this weekend when the 11th-seeded Whip-Purs (6-3) and sixth-seeded Cogs (7-2) hook up in Genoa in the first round of the Class 4A state playoffs.

While I'm still drying out from a wet Friday night, I'll offer a few quick thoughts on what happened around the area in the final week of the regular season.

From Staff Reports

NAPERVILLE -- The Neuqua Valley offense that was clicking so well for weeks suddenly slammed to halt. And the timing couldn't have been worse for the Wildcats.

Neuqua managed only 167 yards of offense and six first downs in a 20-0 loss to visiting St. Charles North on Friday night in a game delayed 90 minutes by lightning. The loss will likely keep the Wildcats (4-5, 3-4 Upstate Eight Conference) from a seventh consecutive trip to the playoffs.

It also marked the first time Neuqua had been shut out since Week 3 of the 2003 season, a span of 57 games.

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.

Several weeks ago the Courier and several other papers reported St. Charles North senior standout Jonathan DeMoss would miss the rest of the football season and a good portion of the basketball campaign.

Then DeMoss surfaced in the North Stars' game against St. Charles East last week, making a long catch early in the contest.

Was this a surprise? Yes and no.

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.

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.

St. Charles North and St. Charles East renew their rivalry Friday at North. Here's a year-by-year look at the rivalry.

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?

Another exciting "Game of the Week" on Saturday as St. Charles North had to come from behind late in the fourth quarter to beat underdog South Elgin 35-24.