Spread offense: October 2008 Archives

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.

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."