The back issues that plagued Naperville North graduate Chris Brown during training camp this fall have landed the Houston Texans running back on injured reserve.
The Texans put Brown on IR on Saturday afternoon (via profootballtalk.com), making the final roster move needed to get down to the mandatory 53 players. This means Chris Brown, who signed a free-agent deal with Houston this spring, will not play this season.
Brown, 27, has battled back problems all through training camp. It became the latest issue in what has been an injury-plagued career for Brown. He averaged 10 appearances a season over five years with the Titans.
So Brown will collect a check and try to get healthy. It's better than getting cut, like fellow North grad Glenn Earl, but it's still a bum deal for Brown.
In a game that saw a lot of mistakes from both sides, it wasn't all bad. Certainly if you read today's game story in The Sun, you know that Naperville Central wide receiver Riley O'Toole is something special for the Redhawks.
But I also thought junior Nick Linne did a good job in his debut as quarterback. Although the highlight was his 59-yard touchdown pass to O'Toole to end the first half, I was impressed by Linne's ability to run when he needed to. He bruised his way for two yards there, six yards here, but those yards add up. Linne also broke free for what should have been a 34-yard touchdown run to start the fourth quarter, but it was called back on a penalty. Central's defense also really caught fire in the second half, but went after Waubonsie quarterback Tyler Castro hard throughout the game.
As for the Warriors, it was a really rough night with all the penalties and special teams mistakes. However, Castro played well. A number of his passes were either right on target or very, very close. And despite some of the dropped passes, I was pretty impressed with Waubonsie's receiving corps. Mark Hilgers and Scott Kuehn especially stood out as bright spots. Even though last night's game wasn't the outcome expected, I think Warriors fans might see the best air attack in the last four years. The defense isn't where it was last season, but we've yet to see the impact that sophomore Owen Saldana might have at middle linebacker. Nonetheless, they had their moments. A fumble recovery in the first quarter and a killer display of tenacity to start the second. Central found themselves 1st-and-goal on the Warriors four yard line, but the Warriors shut the door at the one and bolted it closed when Pat Wellman broke up a pass into the endzone.
Both teams played with almost entirely new offensive lines and I have to give Central the edge on that one. Still, there's a lot of work to be done at both schools.
For those of you who were at the game, what bright spots did you see?
Naperville North graduate Glenn Earl was cut on Friday. The safety was one of 21 players the Houston Texans let go as they try to get down to their 53-man roster.
This is what Houston Chronicle blogger Lance Zierlein wrote about Earl after the Notre Dame product was sent packing.
Earl didn't have a bad camp and should catch on with another team, but he was a victim of being on a roster with nothing but the same type of box safeties that he is. Earl is physical and has okay instincts so he'll catch on somewhere.
Earl was one of three Naperville products on the Texans roster along with running back Chris Brown (Naperville North) and tight end Owen Daniels (Naperville Central). There was some thought that Brown would be a roster victim because of his balky back. Brown isn't safe yet as the Texans have one more cut to make.
So I ask again. If you are a fan of Naperville area high school football, a coach of pee-wee football, a parent who owns two dozen of those picture buttons, a cheerleader who has a unique perspective, a backup player who has a good view of the game, a teacher who always wanted to be a coach, or, you know, a warm body with a computer at home, let us know.
We want the community to contribute to Football Fever. The guest blogger will be a regular feature every week. You don't have to do it every week. Once is enough for us to get started.
So send me an email at sfuchs@scn1.com and let's do this thing.
But punter Andrew Veselik was as good of a hat rack as could be found. The senior had punts of 43, 37, 44 and 41 yards. What's even more impressive is that only one of those punts was returned, and that for only four yards.
That computes to an average net of 42.5 yards per punt. There isn't a coach in the state that would complain about that.
The only mishap for the punt team was the botched snap in the final minutes of the fourth quarter. Veselik tried to snare the high snap, then tried to recover the loose ball, but Oswego recovered the fumble.
The last thing I expected to see after Oswego senior running back Tim Riley ran for a 68-yard touchdown on his team's first offensive play on Friday night against Benet was the Oswego offense stay on the field and attempt a two-point conversion.
Check that. The last thing I expected to see on Friday night was Oswego go for two after each of their five touchdowns in a 32-7 win at Benedictine Stadium.
That's the kind of thing I would do as the coach of a video game team. When I'm piloting my Purdue Boilermakers to an undefeated dynasty, I take no prisoners. But that's just how I roll in a simulated world. No class. No mercy.
So why did Oswego coach Dave Keely decide to employ the same tactic in an actual game in the real world?
For now, sophomore Matt LaCosse is the starting quarterback at Naperville North.
LaCosse won the job when senior Matt Manade injured his left knee about a week ago. LaCosse edged out junior Trevor Hall (an Oswego East transfer) for the start in Friday's season-opening win over Neuqua Valley.
"We really think Matt (LaCosse) has a good future, but Matt Manade's our quarterback," North coach Larry McKeon said afterward. "And when Matt Manade comes back -- as soon as he's willing and ready -- he's back at the helm."
LaCosse helped lead North to a 41-19 victory over the Wildcats by completing 6 of 12 passes for 149 yards. He also rushed for a score.
McKeon praised his young signal-caller after the game but also spelled out why Manade will be valuable upon his return.
"Matt Manade's a really good player," McKeon said. "You feel confident using your whole playbook when you have your senior quarterback back there, you don't feel as confident when you have your sophomore quarterback back there."
Football Fever roams in all places and, in between lunch and dinner today, the blog spied on (not really) Naperville North juniors Arnas Gintautas and James OShaugnessy at Panera Bread.
If this were about Brett Favre, I suppose we'd have to report what they ate. But since it's not, we'll just tell you that OShaugnessy sported a pretty sweet Mohawk. (That's not OShaugnessy pictured; that's Mr. T for all you youngsters).
Gintautas, a linebacker, OShaugnessy, a transfer wideout from Marmion, face Neuqua Valley in both teams' season opener in a couple of hours tonight.
Within about two weeks of breaking his leg in the state championship game last year, Naperville North running back Nick Mlady was jogging on a treadmill.
To be fair, it was weight-altered jogging on a treadmill contraption (or something like that), but the point remains the same. Mlady's injury could have been much worse, like to his knee for example (as some people presumed), but it wasn't.
Now Mlady's back in more than enough time to do some damage during his senior year.
"It probably looked worse than it really was," Mlady said.
Mlady, who rushed for nearly 1,300 yards last year, never had to endure doubts of losing his chance at a college scholarship or a state-championship encore season. Instead, he went to physical therapy every day to remove the swelling and got right back on the horse.
"It wasn't too bad," Mlady said. "It was a clean break (of the fibula) all the way through. It stayed aligned so I didn't have to have surgery."
And now, because of rehab, he feels stronger than ever.
A matchup against Naperville Central isn't the only thing the Wildcats have to look forward to next season.
How does the longest road trip in school history sound?
Mike Kraft was rocking kind of a Mohawk look on Wednesday before practice at Naperville Central. One side hinted at it, while the other appeared like more of a buzz.
Do you think you know everything about high school football in the Naperville area? Do you have something to say?
If your keyboard is itching to be scratched, you could be a guest blogger on Football Fever.
We are looking for coaches, players, student journalists, fans, parents, alumni, referees, chain gang workers, consession stand workers, etc. It doesn't matter. If you follow Naperville North, Naperville Central, Neuqua Valley, Wabusonsie Valley or Benet, we want your opinion on Football Fever.
The guest blog will be a regular feature, running every Friday on Football Fever.
If this sounds reads like something you want to do, send me an e-mail at sfuchs@scn1.com and we will put you in the rotation.
Naperville Central coach Mike Stine said Wednesday that the Redhawks will continue to play Waubonsie Valley next season and will add Neuqua Valley to the 2009 schedule.
Central and Neuqua have met only once before in football, with the Redhawks earning a 17-14 victory in the first round of the 2003 state playoffs.
Neuqua replaces Lake Park as a nonconference opponent. Central travels to Waubonsie on Friday before hosting Lake Park on Sept. 5.
The Wildcats were also looking for a Week 2 replacement. Neuqua coach Bryan Wells said Plainfield Central is dropping his team from its schedule next season. Wells added that the Wildcats will continue opening with Naperville North, giving them a one-two punch from District 203 every season for the foreseeable future.
The Rivals network has released its national rankings, with Mount Carmel (47) the only program from the Chicago area to make the top 100. The Caravan also appears in the Great Lakes regional poll three spots ahead of ninth-ranked East St. Louis, the only other Illinois team featured in either list.
For the third time in the last year, an NFL team has cut Neuqua Valley alumnus Babatunde Oshinowo.
The Washington Redskins released Oshinowo, a defensive tackle, on Sunday, after signing him less than one month earlier. The Bears cut Oshinowo on May 8 after employing him on the practice squad in 2007.
Oshinowo joined the Bears last season after getting cut by the Browns, following their preseason visit to Chicago. It's late this preseason, but he may have some value to several teams' depth charts.
Football is essentially a conservative sport, from the skepticism that first greeted Bill Walsh's West Coast offense to the secrecy that envelopes any program run by a Bill Belichick or a Nick Saban. Rutgers played Princeton in the first college football game on Nov. 6, 1869, but the forward pass wasn't legalized until 1906.
Today's game looks nothing like what was played that day in New Brunswick, N.J. It was more of a rugby scrum, and more than a decade later Dr. James Naismith would invent basketball at a YMCA in Springfield, Mass.
Today's spread offense has been called "basketball on grass." Access to information has never been greater, and ideas have never moved faster. A pirate-loving graduate of Pepperdine's law school can help change the game's geometry. Who's stopping Mike Leach?
The centerpiece story in our preview section examined how technology has changed high school football. What's the next idea or breakthrough that will shape the game? Here's one crazy suggestion: The A-11 offense.
With the first season opener just four days away, we at Football Fever see no better time to start placing your bets (so to speak) on a couple of season openers:
Naperville North vs. Neuqua Valley and Naperville Central at Waubonsie Valley on Aug. 29.
Let's get right to it. Who will win and why? Ready, type...
Central Michigan quarterback and former Benet star Dan LeFevour appeared on ESPN's First Take on Friday morning. Here he talks about facing Georgia, the Heisman and his hole-in-one.
LeFevour also did an online chat with ESPN.com in which he answered questions from fans. You can find it here. Clearly, LeFevour's star is on the rise. These days he seems almost like an ambassador. Is there any doubt that he's the representative of the MAC? Of small conferences everywhere fighting for Top 25 recognition?
Also, let me know if this video actually worked for you. It's the first time we've really posted anything from ESPN.
Central Michigan unveiled a new, gigantic billboard of quarterback Dan LeFevour on Tuesday in Detroit. The former Benet star is now, unquestionably, the face of the program and really, the face of the Mid-American Conference.
LeFevour's success at CMU has thrown his name into the mix as a potential Heisman Trophy candidate this season. Chris Huston, the author of widely respected Heismanpundit blog, thinks LeFevour is a "legitimate darkhorse" for this season, but that he's being promoted for a serious 2009 run. The 60-foot high and 30-foot wide version of LeFevour is plastered on the back of the scoreboard at Comerica Park. The sign faces Ford's Field. LeFevour made a few brief comments about the billboard to ESPN's Graham Watson.
I think the billboard is very telling - the MAC and CMU plan to push LeFevour and a billboard in downtown Detroit will help make him more of a household name. If he's more of a household name, he has even more of a chance of becoming the first non-BCS player to win a Heisman, especially if he has another killer season like the last two. What do you think?
McKeon is trying to become the sixth Naperville native to currently play in the NFL, three of whom in Chris Brown, Justin McCareins and Glenn Earl already hail from his father's North program . The others are Central grad Owen Daniels and Neuqua grad O.J. Oshinowo.
What makes the North program so good at producing NFL-caliber players, or is it just a coincidence?
most1320 posted these videos on Thursday night, showing Naperville North's 42-41 loss in triple overtime at Wheaton Warrenville South. The only loss of North's state championship season gave the DVC title to the eventual 7A state runner-up.
I'm curious about the timing, but more curious about the poster, "most1320."
The videos were posted with the tags "Conroy WWSHS Football MSU." The Conroy part could be outgoing senior Dan Conroy, the kicker who booted the 41-yard field goal to put the Tigers up 20-13 with 5:43 to play. Note the score. 20-13...most1320.
Maybe it's nothing. Maybe a graduating kicker is talking smack on the internets.
Baratz is a 6-foot-4, 275-pound senior offensive lineman for Naperville North, the defending Class 8A state champs. He was a part-time starter last year and missed four and a half games because of injury.
Even so, he must have assembled enough game tape to lure not only Arizona into a scholarship offer but also Northern Illinois and Miami of Ohio. He finally verbally committed to Arizona on Tuesday night and reported it to edgytim.com on Wednesday, a week before the first day of practice.
In an email to The Sun on Thursday, North coach Larry McKeon said, "He has great potential as an offensive lineman."
Both ESPN.com and Scout.com reported Schaffer's commitment over the weekend.
"I thought about playing my senior year and signing after," said Schaffer, who had interest from Central Michigan and Northern Illinois, among others, but no other offers yet. "But I went up Friday and watched practice. After that, I pretty much knew where I wanted to be.
"Coach Cubit, coach (Mike) Sabock, coach (Mike) Grant, the coaching staff, they made me feel like family. They made me feel at home, and the players are great to be around. It made me want to come to Western Michigan."
