Naperville Central: October 2008 Archives

CHICAGO - Check in around 6:45 p.m. for real-time updates from Gately Stadium.

This Game of the Week preview incorrectly identified Naperville Central as the sixth seed in Friday night's playoff game against Mount Carmel. The No. 11 Redhawks will take on the sixth-seeded Caravan at Gately Stadium. And I'd be surprised if that's actually Clint Woods in the photo. Not sure what exactly happened, but both errors are inexcusable - I apologize. We'll make it up the rest of the playoffs.

At The Office, before the 2008 season began, we guessed the number of victories each program would finish with, and how the DuPage Valley Conference would play out. Those projections fall comfortably on the laughable-to-accurate range, though this weekend could change that assessment.

Let's start with "What Went Wrong":

Team: Neuqua Valley (4-5)
Staffer: Paul LaTour
Prediction: 6 wins
The quote: "(A) return to the playoffs should be in the offing for Neuqua."
The bright side: LaTour now has a new nugget for historical reference, such as: "The last time the Wildcats were eliminated from playoff consideration in a presidential election year after a game that ended with a combined final score less than the integer 21 was 2008."

Team: Benet (2-7)
Staffer: Sean Fuchs
Prediction: 5 wins
The quote: "With five teams on the schedule that won eight or more games last year, including Class 6A state champion Joliet Catholic, the Redwings will do well to get those five victories."
The bright side: Fuchs no longer covers Benet and has taken his demented sense of humor to Bolingbrook. Here's how he led a recent column on The Brook: "Going undefeated in the regular season is a great accomplishment. It also means nothing."

And continue with "What Might Go Wrong":

This morning Paul LaTour analyzes the Upstate Eight Conference and how it has historically struggled in the postseason. R.J. Gerber of The Courier News agrees, saying that undefeated Bartlett has something to prove in Class 8A.

The Naperville North program has already earned that respect, but if it is to repeat, then it may at some point have to lean more on its passing game. Its road back to Champaign could go through 9-0 Bolingbrook, which, as Bill Scheibe of The Herald News explains, has a strong secondary.

And finally Stephen Spiewak of MaxPreps shares his three games in 24 hours odyssey, which began at Harshbarger-Welzel Field last Friday.

Straight from the IHSA, a wide-angle view of the Class 8A field:

State Champions (any class)
10 Mt. Carmel
2 Naperville North
2 Maine South
1 Brother Rice
1 Downers Grove South
1 Frankfort Lincoln-Way East
1 Naperville Central
1 Lincoln-Way Central
1 Loyola Academy

Consecutive Appearances (min. 10)
23 Mt. Carmel
20 Stevenson
17 Bolingbrook
17 Maine South
14 Lincoln-Way Central
14 Fremd
12 Lane
12 Downers Grove South
12 Naperville North

The Internet revolution has forced media companies to use new metrics for its products, concepts like "unique readers" that go beyond traditional circulation numbers. "Unique" would be one way to describe those who comment on the Friday night Game of the Week Live Blog, but make no mistake their contributions are certainly appreciated.

To keep up interest, some - you know who you are - have suggested posting pictures of hot babes. We're not quite at that point yet, because the Live Blog continues to grow and last week's numbers from the Wheaton Warrenville South-Naperville North game were absolutely off the charts. But in the days leading up to the Game of the Week, we want to hear more from you on this blog. So commenters like Southside99, nnfan, X-Tiger, jeff and NNHS 06 - we'll be asking for your thoughts on 2008 playoff field. Please keep the comments coming and let's start with this talking point: Where should have No. 2 Naperville North been seeded in Class 8A?

According to its athletics Web site, No. 11 Naperville Central (6-3) will travel to Chicago's Gately Stadium on Friday to face No. 6 Mount Carmel (7-2) in a 7 p.m. first-round Class 8A playoff game.

UPDATE: Waubonsie Valley playoff information can be found here.

-Today we catch up with Nick Mlady and wonder if Wheaton Warrenville South-Naperville North will be another Instant Classic.

-It's already drawing national attention. MaxPreps calls it the state's game of the year and embedded at the bottom of that preview story is links to videos of North and WW South.

-According to a the latest IHSA media release, Naperville Central (5-3) and Waubonsie Valley (5-3) are both in the playoffs with a win Friday night. A Neuqua Valley (4-4) win keeps it on the bubble but with 47 playoff points entering Friday the Wildcats should have some tiebreaker advantages.

-Jim Owczarski checked in with Waubonsie the other day and says it has turned the corner. His column also takes a what could have been slant to a season like West Aurora's.

-Random notes from the IHSA: If Providence Catholic beats Guerin, the entire five-team Chicago Catholic Blue will play in the postseason, making it the only league in the state to have all of its members qualify. ... The Upstate Eight Conference has a chance for six teams to qualify.

Check in around 7:15 p.m. for real-time updates from Memorial Stadium.

Once he was done holding court/getting his ankles taped in the Naperville Central training room, senior H-back Antwon Harris talked X's and O's before Thursday's practice and explained his role in the spread offense.

The key for Harris Friday night will be beating Glenbard North's cornerbacks off the line of scrimmage. Beyond individual assignments, as a team Central is feeling confident. Harris believes the Redhawks are better prepared after absorbing losses in consecutive weeks to two of the state's best teams.

"Wheaton South, (they) whooped us, everybody knows but that wasn't (our) best," Harris said. "We just had a bad game...That game just pretty much taught us a lesson, (that) we have to come in (from) the get-go.

"If we play a good team like that, (you) got to come in firing right off the bat, cause that's what they did. They came in, scored the first three drives, 21-0 just like that.

"It just taught us a lesson (to) come in prepared for a game. Then that (Naperville) North game just taught us another lesson. (We) only put up 14 points on the board but we were moving the ball against them so we just need to put the ball in the end zone more."

Elsewhere Paul LaTour breaks down the other area matchups with these capsules.

In The Beacon News Jim Owczarski looks ahead to the postseason.

Check back Friday night for the Live Blog from Memorial Stadium.

Naperville Central defensive lineman Mike Kraft (ankle) has been practicing for Glenbard North this week but will be a game-time decision Friday night, according to Redhawks coach Mike Stine.

His presence would help Central (5-2) slow an offense averaging more than 216 rushing yards per game. Tyler Doll has run for 1,029 yards and 15 touchdowns for a Glenbard North (4-3) team headlined by Northwestern recruit Evan Watkins. The senior is completing only 48 percent of his passes and his touchdown-to-interception ratio is 7:4. But the dual-threat quarterback is also averaging more than six yards per carry and has five rushing touchdowns.

A win would cement a playoff berth for either team - Glenbard North might have the toughest schedule in the state.

Last season Central hung on for a wild 35-28 win in Carol Stream, and the Panthers, then a 4-4 bubble team, responded a week later by clinching a postseason bid that took them all the way to the Class 8A final.

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One week after getting blown out by Wheaton Warrenville South, Naperville Central proved it could hang with one of the top teams in the state. The Redhawks entered the fourth quarter of the Wes Spencer Classic last week tied with Naperville North at 21, though the Huskies then struck for two big touchdowns.

Those scores came well after two Central defensive starters - tackle Mike Kraft and cornerback Kalen Petty - left the game with injuries. Petty, a special teams presence who has notched 40 total tackles, is expected to return Friday night at West Chicago while Central is being cautious with Kraft's ankle. The senior lineman with nine sacks and 47 total tackles is doubtful.

Central dropped hints about its potential coming off a 45-7 homecoming loss to WW South. As Central coach Mike Stine said Thursday: "You feel good about that because after you have a game like we did the week before, you never know how you're gonna come out emotionally. (That's) everybody - the coaches, the players, they don't know."

Central (4-2) should have more than enough offensive firepower Friday night against a West Chicago team (1-5) that's already been shut out twice and hasn't scored more than 20 points in a game this season. With a win over the Wildcats, Central could virtually clinch a playoff spot and begin positioning for seeding. The crosstown showed that perhaps the Redhawks aren't as far away as it seemed only one week earlier.

"Usually most games come down to five or six plays and you got to make plays when you get an opportunity. (That) was a game we put ourselves in a situation to have a chance to win," Stine said. "(We) just didn't execute, the ball didn't necessarily bounce our way."

Junior Nick Linne managed the game very well in his first four varsity starts at quarterback, throwing only two interceptions in his first 94 attempts. Naperville Central went 4-0 during that opening stretch, positioning itself for a likely playoff berth.

The Redhawks (4-2) still need that fifth win, but at least they have emerged from the other side of what has to be the two most brutal weeks in Illinois prep football. Against Wheaton Warrenville South and Naperville North, Central was outscored 80-28 and in those DuPage Valley Conference losses Linne threw seven interceptions.

But those numbers needs some context. There were several drops across the past two weeks, and one deflection led to an interception last week. In the WW South game, one interception came on a fourth-and-long situation - it basically functioned as a punt - and another was right near the end of the first half. And of course Central was forced to throw once it fell behind 21-0 against WW South and trailed North by two touchdowns in the fourth quarter.

The point is that Linne has played better than the statistics suggest. Even accounting for the last two weeks, the junior is completing nearly 59 percent of his passes and still has thrown for 1,004 yards and eight touchdowns. The Redhawks like his makeup.

"He has that great quarterback demeanor. He never gets too high, doesn't get too low," Central coach Mike Stine said of Linne after a Week 2 victory over Lake Park. "He's cool, calm and collected, doesn't get rattled."

As the season's progressed, Antwon Harris has emerged as a go-to receiver with 20 receptions for 292 yards, though the 5-foot-9-inch senior hasn't yet caught a touchdown pass. Riley O'Toole was supposed to be the big-play receiver, but defenses have really started to key in on the 6-foot-4-inch senior.

O'Toole's numbers are still good - 16 catches for 286 yards and four touchdowns - and no one does more for Central than the wide receiver/safety/punter/return man. But WW South and North limited to O'Toole to three catches for 34 yards.

How Linne and O'Toole reconnect will be one way to track the rest of Central's season. But don't expect Linne to fade away. His teammates respect how he's already earned varsity letters in basketball and baseball.

"Being the athlete that (Linne) is, and going through all that adversity, all the sports that he's played, he's great at bouncing back," defensive lineman Mike Kraft said during Central's 4-0 start. "Even though he's a junior, he has more experience in varsity games than most of us."

Naperville North moved up to No. 2 in the Chicago Sun-Times rankings after Friday's 35-21 victory over Naperville Central, and from here the schedule is manageable.

Up next is West Aurora (3-3, 1-3), which is 0-11 against North since joining the DuPage Valley Conference in 1997.

The Huskies (6-0, 4-0) then travel to Wheaton North (4-2, 2-2) on Oct. 17. The question then will be which Falcons are available. Quarterback Taylor Graham reportedly broke his ankle and will miss the rest of the season. Running back Mike Trumpy, a Northwestern recruit, sat out last week's 24-21 win over Glenbard East with an injury - his status will be something to monitor as the Falcons prepare for No. 3 Wheaton Warrenville South on Friday.

By Week 9 the hype will be in overdrive for another DVC showdown. WW South might come into Naperville having won its previous 27 DVC games, as well as 35 consecutive regular season games. Meanwhile the Huskies could be defending a 13-game winning streak that includes a Class 8A championship. It would have started after a 42-41 triple-overtime loss to WW South last year in the regular-season finale.

After a 35-21 crosstown loss on Friday night, Naperville Central coach Mike Stine was asked to compare the 2007 Class 8A champion Naperville North team to the current edition. His response might as well be a warning to the rest of the DuPage Valley Conference and the 8A field.

"Their offense is I think equally as good. Obviously, they had the great quarterback last year - (Jordan) Tassio's special. (They) might have total more overall weapons this year than last year. (All) three of those backs can hurt you," Stine said. "Defensively, they don't get a lot of credit (but) they're physical, they run to the ball very well."

How would you assess North's potential?

Check in around 7 p.m. for crosstown updates from North Central College.

Three things to look for Friday night at North Central College: how much pressure Central's defense can generate against North's offensive line; the way two first-year starting quarterbacks respond in their Crosstown debut; which team makes game-changing plays on special teams.

Make your predictions here.