Naperville North: September 2009 Archives

Tickets for Friday night's District 203 crosstown game at North Central College will be on sale at Naperville North and Naperville Central through Thursday of this week.

At North, tickets can be purchased at the main office. Central is selling tickets from its athletic office. Both offices will be open from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.

Tickets cost $6 for adults and $4 for students. No reserved seats will be sold. Gates will open Friday at 4 p.m., an hour before the sophomore game begins. The varsity game is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. This is considered a home game for North.

Throughout this week, we'll have more on the crosstown in the print edition.

Sean Payton, New Orleans Saints head coach
Alma mater: Naperville Central
Week 2: Payton has an offensive background and his Saints (2-0) are absolutely lighting up the scoreboard. Coming off a 48-22 win over the Philadelphia Eagles, New Orleans leads the NFL by a wide margin in total yards (936) and points scored (93).
Coming up: At Buffalo Bills (1-1), Sunday 3:05 p.m.

Owen Daniels, Houston Texans tight end
Alma mater: Naperville Central
Week 2: Daniels caught a one-yard touchdown pass that tied the game 31-31 late in the third quarter in Nashville, Tenn. The Texans (1-1) then completed the comeback against the Tennessee Titans and scored a 34-31 victory. Daniels finished with six catches for 72 yards.
Coming up: At Jacksonville Jaguars (0-2), Sunday 12 p.m.

Chris Brown, Houston Texans running back
Alma mater: Naperville North
Week 2: Brown is becoming a contributor out of Houston's backfield. He carried the ball eight times for 25 yards (3.1 average), though nearly half of that output came on a 12-yard gain, his longest run of the day in Tennessee. With Steve Slaton struggling, the Texans are ranked last in the NFL in rushing yards per game (50.5). That could create more opportunities for Brown.

There will not be a ticket pre-sale for Friday night's game at Naperville North, according to Doug Smith, the school's athletic director. But before the Huskies take on Wheaton Warrenville South, the school will have a dedication ceremony for recently renovated Harshbarger-Welzel Field. It will begin approximately 30 minutes before the scheduled 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

Here's a first-look preview of what should be another classic DuPage Valley Conference game.

The official dedication of recently renovated Harshbarger-Welzel Field will take place on Sept. 25, the night Naperville North faces Wheaton Warrenville South.

"We're in the process of trying to pull everything together for that right now," North athletic director Doug Smith said the other day. "We don't have everything finalized but we're getting pretty close."

Beacon News writer Jim Owczarski breaks down West Aurora's place in the DuPage Valley Conference and its upcoming matchup against Naperville Central. The Blackhawks are pinning their hopes on an offensive line that averages 6 feet, 3 inches and 263 pounds.

Since joining the DuPage Valley Conference in 1997, West Aurora has gone 17-67. Here is how the Blackhawks have stacked up against their rivals over the years:

6-6 vs. Glenbard East
5-7 vs. West Chicago
4-8 vs. Wheaton North
2-10 vs. Glenbard North
0-12 vs. Naperville Central
0-12 vs. Naperville North
0-12 vs. Wheaton Warrenville South

Here are the latest state rankings from the Associated Press:

Class 8A
1. Maine South (2-0)
2. Chicago Mt. Carmel (2-0)
3. Bolingbrook (2-0)
4. Naperville North (2-0)
5. Hinsdale Central (1-1)
6. Fremd (2-0)
7. Lincoln-Way East (2-0)
8. Belleville West (2-0)
9. Warren (2-0)
10. Belleville East (2-0)

Class 7A
1. St. Rita (2-0)
2. Glenbard West (2-0)
3. Wheaton Warrenville South (1-1)
4. Geneva (2-0)
5. Prospect (2-0)
6. Boylan (2-0)
7. Crystal Lake South (2-0)
8. Carmel (1-1)
9. Lake Zurich (1-1)
10. Huntley (2-0)

Naperville North receives spotlight treatment this week in the Chicago Sun-Times. It includes an essay submitted by North defensive coordinator Sean Drendel, a 1990 graduate. It's worth reading. Drendel writes in part:

Football coach Larry McKeon, my mentor, brought in weight lifting. We never lifted before that. If you aren't playing another sport, he said, you better be lifting. I didn't enjoy lifting. So I played other sports.

But coaches such as McKeon, Carl Hunckler, Paul Ryan and Tom Vargos taught us that hard work pays off, that if you put time and effort in, there will be value in it, as an athlete and a person. Character counts, too. And everyone on the team matters. There are no cuts at Naperville North.

This week Wheaton Warrenville South enters the National Prep Football Poll at No. 25 after a 34-26 win over Hinsdale Central. The poll, which has St. Thomas Aquinas (Fla.) ranked first overall, is distributed in part by the Associated Press.

Locally, Naperville North remained seventh in the Chicago Sun-Times rankings, while Naperville Central moved up to No. 15.